The Flamestar Chronicles
by Shrike Flamestar
Summary: CORE, a once peaceful organization, has begun building an army. The Crimson Dawn, a cult calling for the destruction of all Pokémon, has begun to emerge. As the world slowly turns towards chaos, only a trio of young trainers can hope to restore order...
1. Chapter 1

**The Flamestar Chronicles**

**Part 1: Turning Point**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_>What do you see when you open your eyes? Do you see a world of peace and joy?_  
_>A world of hate and anger? Selfishness? Selflessness? Do you see a world filled  
>with naught but waste, or do you see a world populated by great opportunities?  
>Or, do you see nothing. A world filled with nothing at all._

_>That is what I see when I open my eyes; I see nothing. But it is not that I do not  
>watch the pictures that play out before me, it is that I do not see anything in those  
>pictures. I open my eyes and watch the world around me, yet I take in nothing;  
>I_ see _nothing. I observe yet I do not_ know. _My brain fails to make those connections  
>between what I am watching, and its_ meaning. _While the world is bright and vivid to  
>me, it is utterly_ pointless _and_ useless _as I see no_ reason _to it all. _

"No, no. That is way too melodramatic. Perhaps fate would be a better way to open..."

_>This path... This ever-ongoing path called life. It calls out to me, reaching for me. I try to  
_

"Shrike?"

_>pull away, to run in any other direction then the one the voices come from, yet I can't.  
>It's got me in its grasp, and I can not help but go along. To where I can not know as I am  
>unable to see anything. I try to see the truth, yet how can something non-existent be seen?  
_

"Shrike!"

_>This path I am forced to follow, it is like a toy train. It is only able to follow its set path,  
>looping in circles forever. Yet, even on that toy train the path is obvious, it is_ seen. _Yet  
>on my path, there is nothing to even so much as indicate  
_

"Shrike Flamestar!"

_>that I_ am _on a path at all. Yet how am I not if I am unable to do what I want? It is as  
>if that toy train has had its tracks buried under sand  
_

_Smack!  
_

"Oof!"

"Are you with us now, Shrike Flamestar?"

"Huh?" Dimly I blinked a couple times, lifting my head off of the table upon which it had been smacked down onto. Adjusting my glasses I looked up to find myself staring at an animal that lay on the table in front of me. It looked somewhat like an anteater or echidna; however it was fairly small, no more then a foot and a half from the tip of its long nose to its rear, and its body was covered in two different colors of fur. While the fur on its back was a dark blue its underside was a yellowish-cream color, and while not natural for this species, its underbelly fur also had a reddish sheen to it. Our professor had told us they referred to this uncommon and special coloring as being 'semi-shiny' as a true 'shiny' of this species would have a red sheen to all of its fur, which made them incredibly rare and highly prized. It lay curled up now in a ball, its stomach rising and falling softly as it slept peacefully; the red spots on its back that were able to produce fire giving off a dim glow. Shaking my head I sat up straight and turned around to face the source of my disturbance. "Oh, Professor Jura. Is something the matter?"

The elderly man stood over me, frowning down at the small tablet PC that sat in my lap. I glanced at it and quickly tapped the save icon, I didn't want to lose what I had been writing; while not suitable for anything I was doing right now it might be useful for another story in the future. "You have five minutes until the end of class. I suggest you finish up your work for the day and return that Cyndaquil to its cage. You know my policy about stragglers after the bell, I'm sure you don't want to lose your points for the day's work." Professor Jura said, staring down at me. He always put on this act that he viewed us as unworthy or something, however in his eyes there existed an odd shimmer that almost seemed like a repressed kindness, however it was hard to believe that he was possible of anything nice.

I grimaced and glanced at my watch as Professor Jura walked away, I had gotten too caught up in my writing that I had let time slip right by me. Sighing I closed the document I had been writing in and pulled up a spreadsheet that had been minimized. It was labeled, _Observations on the Behavioral Habits of a Cyndaquil_ and contained various charts filled with data on things such as sleeping, eating, and so on. I looked over the chart and relaxed as I realized that I had already collected all the data I needed. This was the last day for data collection on our project and if I hadn't finished my grade would be in serious trouble. I stood up from the chair I had been sitting in and snapped the cover of the tablet PC closed like it was a book, sliding the stylus I had been writing with into a slot in the cover before I slid the whole thing into a pocket in my jeans.

Glancing around I noticed that almost everyone else had finished and was now standing around talking to each other as they awaited the bell. Hurriedly I shoved all the rest of my stuff into my backpack, in to much of a rush to make sure that everything was organized properly into the right pockets. Slinging the backpack onto my shoulder I reached into the enclosure that had been set up on top of the table and carefully picked the sleeping Cyndaquil up. Cradling it in my arms carefully so as not to wake him I made my way over to the rows of cages that stood against one entire wall of the spacious classroom and looked along them. Most of them were filled with various species of Pokémon, all the ones the other groups and individuals had been assigned for this project. Since this was our last day using them, no doubt that by tomorrow they would be moved to the Pokémon habitats built behind the school. Glancing down at the sleeping Cyndaquil I held in my arms I smiled fondly; I would miss him. Perhaps I would be able to visit him sometimes, but the staff had never liked students to grow to close to the school's Pokémon.

Sighing I walked alongside the cages until I found the right one. Adjusting the Cyndaquil I managed to free one arm and pulled the cage door open. Gently I laid the Cyndaquil on the blanket that covered the floor of the cage and glanced down at my watch to find I only had about five seconds left before the bell. Slamming the cage door shut behind me I turned and ran to the door, making it just in time as the bell rang and the crowd of students tried their best to all squeeze past each other and through the door at the same time

* * *

Emerging from the classroom I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the bright midday light. The classroom door exited onto a third-story balcony that ringed the parameter of Pokémon Academy's semi-circular main building, all along which more doors were opening and before long the balcony was packed with people hurrying about to get to their next class. I wasn't in much of a hurry though as I didn't have a next class, after General Pokémon Studies I had a break period in which I could do whatever I wanted. 

Casually I walked over to the steel railing that ran along the edge of the balcony, overlooking the courtyard below that sat in another semi-circle cut out of the flat edge of the main building. Looking down I tried to see if any Pokémon battles were taking place below, however the courtyard was mostly empty today. Shrugging I turned around and looked down the balcony in both directions, trying to decide rather I should check out the Battle Center or return to my dorm so as to upload all I had written in class today to my main computer.

"Hey, Shrike. Get over here."

I looked around for the source of the voice before settling my eyes on a girl that stood a few yards away down the balcony to the left of me. "Oh, Rayne. Why didn't you come to class today? I almost got in trouble with Jura because you weren't there to take care of the Cyndaquil while I zoned out."

Rayne shrugged; her short black camisole pulling up slightly so as to expose a bellybutton pierced with a ruby studded ring. Shaking her long black hair out she tied it back into a pony tail, watching me as I walked over to her. Rayne Jarxis was known around the Academy to be somewhat, different; she rarely talked to anyone and had a habit of missing classes. I couldn't even tell rather she cared for Pokémon at all; however the fact that she was here in a Pokémon trainer's school as prestigious as the Academy ought to have meant something. With her, however, it was hard to know anything for certain. Wondering why she had called me, of all people, I leaned over the railing near her and stared at nothing in particular. The only relations we had were that she and I had been paired together to record data on the Cyndaquil we had been assigned, not that that meant much with how often she was gone, and when she was in class we had never gotten along all that well. With my short, brown hair being ruffled by the wind I took the initiative to speak to her with my back turned. "So, why'd you want me?"

"Because you're the only person I know who will listen to me."

"I thought you didn't like me? Or anyone at all, in fact. You sure act like it."

"You don't have to like someone to talk to them."

"Well, then, please do go on." I rolled my eyes. Although I had my back turned to her I could hear Rayne walk closer to me and stand behind me to my right.

"See, it's that kind of attitude that gets on my nerves. If you'd just drop the sarcasm..."

"You're not perfect either. I'm sure I don't need to tell you what the entire school thinks of you."

"That I'm different, so what? Just because I rarely talk to other people and prefer to do what I myself want doesn't make me any less human then anyone else."

"Same with my sarcasm. Can we move on now?"

Rayne was silent for a moment, then spoke up again. "I saw that you write stories the other day, during class. What about?"

I tensed, not having expected that question. "Nothing. Just whatever comes to mind. Mostly fantasy and sci-fi, really; I'll also write about Pokémon trainers sometimes."

"I like writing too. It's like an escape for me, allowing me to get away from my normal life."

"Interesting..."

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just that I feel the same way sometimes."

Pushing myself away from the railing I turned around to face Rayne; as I looked at her she diverted her eyes. I realized then that she was younger then I had thought previously. Before she had looked almost around sixteen, like a senior, however now I realized she wasn't much older then me at all, merely around fourteen. She gave off an air about her of maturity, however, like she had been through more then anyone knew. And now, as she talked to me, that air was dissipating. "Where are you from?" I asked suddenly.

Rayne shook her head. "Don't know, I've been an orphan all my known life. What does the past matter anyways; it's already been done and is set in stone."

I was about to respond, however before I could something attracted my attention out of the corner of my right eye. All this time I had been talking to Rayne the balcony had slowly been emptying and there were few people standing about now besides Rayne and I, so the cause of my notice was easy to make out.

Walking out of a door came two young men. One had long, flowing red hair and was wearing a black cloak over a black shirt and walked slightly ahead of the other who was dressed in what could most be likened to loose old rags and was hunched over as if his back was broken. Both looked to be around eighteen, which meant they either had to be seniors who were being held back, or that they didn't belong here at all. They weren't what had attracted my attention, however; it was what the one wearing the rag-like clothes was carrying. Held in one hand by the scruff of its neck was a Cyndaquil, whining and thrashing about as it cried out, "Quil!" Flames sputtered around its back; however the man seemed to ignore the fire as if he couldn't feel it.

"Hey, who are you? Why are you holding that Cyndaquil like that?" I asked as I turned from Rayne and walked over to the two men. The one with red hair looked down at me, for he was taller then me, and I shrunk back at the hard look in his eyes. He watched me coolly, and I could see in his eyes he was adding me up like a math equation.

"And may I inquire who _you_ are?" The red haired man finally asked.

Hesitantly I decided there was no harm in him knowing my name and nodded. "Shrike Flamestar; I'm a sophomore here. Who are you; you look to old to be attending school; and I don't think that Cyndaquil much enjoys being held like that..."

Again the red haired man measured me while I glanced at his companion who was holding the Cyndaquil. Stifling a gasp I took a step back. The man's eyes weren't normal, instead the white of his eyes were a dark, golden-yellow and his pupils were thin vertical slits, like a snake's eyes. He grinned and hissed at me, chuckling as I nervously took a farther step backwards.

"Ramirez! This boy, Shrike, had done nothing to us. Do not bother him." The red haired man barked at the one dressed in rags, Ramirez apparently. He turned back to me and nodded apologetically. "Excuse my companion. He has suffered some most unfortunate birth defects along with some brain damage. My name is Zelos, and we were visiting this school to watch the Pokémon battles. We are leaving now, however."

Zelos and Ramirez briskly turned to walk down the balcony; however as they did so two realizations hit me. The first was that the room I was standing outside of right now was Professor Jura's. The second was that the Cyndaquil Ramirez was carrying had a red sheen to its chest fur.

"Hey, that Cyndaquil belongs to the school! You can't just take it with you!" I yelled angrily. Zelos and Ramirez stopped in their tracks, turning back around to face me.

"Ah, but we are. You recognized it, and I can see your anger quite clearly. You care for it, no?" Zelos said, his tone of voice icy cold and his eyes burning as with fire. He gave a small nod and Ramirez pulled a switchblade out from a pocket in his torn jeans, opening it in a flash before pressing the sharp edge of the blade up against the Cyndaquil's throat.

"Cynda!" The Cyndaquil yelped in fear as he stopped moving, realizing what was going on. I yelped myself and stumbled backwards, at a loss for what to do; one twitch and Ramirez could severely injure the Cyndaquil, perhaps even...

"You see, we're about to do a little, experiment, you could say, and we need a test subject. For, you see, this isn't just any experiment; I am studying Pokémon anatomy and need a healthy young fire type to farther my research. Passing this door I noticed the door to this Cyndaquil's cage wide open and took it as an invitation." Zelos said, no hint of compassion in his voice at all. "While I would prefer to wait until I returned to my lab, I think I could start the dissection process right here and now if you insist on stopping us, starting with an in-depth look at the inside of its trachea."

The Cyndaquil whimpered as the knife was pressed against its throat, a thin red line appearing. I gaped, frozen in fear. One small twitch and the Cyndaquil would die, and it would be all my fault for not making sure the door to his cage had locked. For a moment longer the three of us stood there facing each other, the knife being pressed closer and closer to the Cyndaquil's throat all the time, the cut widening and deepening until blood began to drip down from it in thick rivulets.

"Oh, come on. Don't you know how to fight at least?"

From behind me a blur leaped on top of Ramirez, knocking him to the ground and slapping the switchblade out of his hand, sending it flying in an arc through the air only to clatter on the stone floor of the balcony away from us.

"Rayne..." I said breathlessly as I began to come to my senses again.

"The Cyndaquil!" She yelled as she struggled to keep Ramirez down, him hissing at her as he swung his fists wildly.

Frantically I looked around for the Cyndaquil, but by the time I saw where Ramirez had dropped him, it was too late. Zelos bent down and picked him up by his scruff again, pulling out a knife of his own and pressing the sharp edge of it up against the cut Ramirez has started. By now it looked as though the Cyndaquil was unconscious, his head hanging limply down and forcing Zelos to hold it up with the back of his hand holding the knife. Blood ran down the Cyndaquil's chest freely now as Zelos pushed his knife against the Cyndaquil's neck even harder, the length of the blade almost buried in the Cyndaquil's throat. Meanwhile Zelos smirked at me, "So are you just going to stand there dumbfounded and let this pitiful Cyndaquil die at my hands? My, I had thought better of you Shrike, but you are disappointing me."

I watched as Zelos jerked the knife deeper into Cyndaquil's throat, the blade disappearing lengthwise into the wound, no longer visible from the outside. With a yelp the Cyndaquil woke up again, screaming in pain and fair as it gasped for breath, its voice raspy, "Qui... Qui... Cyn..." My eyes widened, and I knew right then what I had to do. For a fleeting second I had a glimpse of my future, and I _knew_.

"LET HIM GO!" I roared, throwing myself at Zelos. He had the size advantage over me, but I had taken him by surprise. With newfound strength I grabbed the wrist of the arm that he held his knife in and began to wrench it away from and out of the Cyndaquil's throat. Zelos was clearly shocked by this; however there was nothing he could do. I was tightly gripping the hand that held his knife and he couldn't get it free. His other hand held the Cyndaquil and if he let go of him he'd be giving in to me, a sign of weakness which I knew was beyond him. His legs had buckled back by my surprise charge so if he tried to kick me he'd lose balance and fall over. I, however, wasn't finished yet.

Growling in rage I curled my free hand into a fist and punched Zelos in the gut as hard as I could, knocking all the air out of him. Zelos staggered back, almost pulling me down with him as he fell, and dropped both the Cyndaquil and his knife, grabbing his gut with his now free hand as he collapsed. I grimaced as the knife fell down and opened a cut on my bare arm; however I ignored it and let go of Zelos' wrist, quickly grabbing the Cyndaquil before he hit the ground, cradling his limp body in my arms. Backing away from Zelos I noticed that Ramirez had thrown Rayne off him and was now brandishing another knife at her as she held up the switchblade that he had dropped earlier. It looked almost like they were going to duel with four inch long swords.

"Shrike, get out of here! That Cyndaquil needs more help faster then the infirmary can give, bring it to the Pokémon Center down the road!" Rayne yelled as she jumped out of the way as Ramirez tried to lunge at her with his knife, her taking the opportunity to slice at his arm.

Wordless I turned around and ran down the balcony. I would be taking the long way out of the building by going this way; however I couldn't get tangled up in the fight any farther. Worried I looked down at the Cyndaquil in my arms and realized just how bad the cut on its throat was. The bleeding didn't seem to be stopping and poured out everywhere from his throat, his breathing was shallow and hard, and his eyes were clenched closed tightly as he swung blindly at the air with his paws, thinking I his enemy. Looking around I tucked into a small alcove in the wall of the building and sat down, laying the Cyndaquil in my lap and pulling my backpack and shoes off. Quickly I pulled off both my socks as well, laying one aside as I wrapped the other around the Cyndaquil's neck as a makeshift bandage. I tied it as tight as I could risk, not wanting to choke him but hoping it would help to staunch the flow of blood, however almost immediately it was soaked clear through. I looked at the cut on my own arm, but compared to the Cyndaquil's it was a paper cut. Taking my other sock I tied it around my arm before sliding my shoes back on, reaching into my backpack for something.

"Hope you like Coke." I whispered to the Cyndaquil as I pulled out a half full plastic bottle of Coca-Cola, unscrewing the cap and tipping some of the liquid into the Cyndaquil's mouth. Fortunately he swallowed it and I gave him some more, until most of the bottle was gone. Taking a final drink myself I tossed the empty bottle into my backpack and began to stand up, the Cyndaquil calmer now as he looked weakly up at me, seeing now that I was saving him. I smiled back at him with glistening eyes, gently stroking his head as I tried my best to soothe him.

"I's found's you'ss!"

Yelling in surprise I fell back down and looked up to find Ramirez standing at the entrance to the alcove. He cackled and hissed at me as he pulled out two switchblades, one in each hand and different still then the others; I couldn't help but wonder how many he carried around with him. Helpless I pressed myself back against the wall, pressing Cyndaquil against my chest to try and protect him as Ramirez approached. This was the end; there was no way I could fight back now...

"Ramirez! Let him be. The Cyndaquil is not worth it and we have already attracted too much attention here."

With a reluctant hiss Ramirez closed the knives, sliding them back into his pockets. Angrily he scuttled away from me, hunched over as always. Zelos walked up the alcove and glowered down at me with hatred; I noticed with satisfaction that he was still clutching his stomach where I had punched him.

"Shrike. I am sparing you for now. However, if you _ever_ get in the way of my plans again, I _will_ kill you. Our plans go far beyond your simple minded understanding, and I can not afford to have a little kid such as yourself continually messing it up." And with that Zelos turned and began to run down the balcony, Ramirez following behind him like a dog as the few bystanders who had remained standing around after the fight stared after him in puzzlement.

"Come on Shrike, this is no time to be worrying about them." Rayne said, appearing at the entrance to the alcove and holding her hand out to me. Nodding I held the Cyndaquil with one arm as she helped me to my feet. "I'll stay behind and explain what happened when some of the staff gets here, as I know they will; it's inevitable that someone's told them that something's happening by now. You get the Cyndaquil to the Pokémon Center." Rayne said sternly.

"Right." I nodded, knowing I was extremely short on time now. Not wasting anymore I ran off down the balcony to the stairs, praying all the while with tears in my eyes that the Cyndaquil who now lay sleeping in restless, fitful sleep in my arms would hold out just a little longer.

**End of Chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Help! I need a doctor now! I don't know how much longer he can hold out..."

I burst through the doors of the Pokémon Center, not even waiting for them to open fully but squeezing between them as they slid apart instead. The circular, immaculately clean foyer of the Pokémon Center was mostly empty, but a few people sat around talking and turned to look at me as I ran in screaming. In particular a pink haired and slender nurse dressed in a white nursing gown stood up from where she had been sitting behind a reception desk, looking at me inquisitively. "Can I help you sir? Who are you talking about?"

"This Cyndaquil, it was..." I hesitated, not wanting to think of what Zelos and Ramirez had so ruthlessly done, "Injured. Badly injured. A knife cut deep into its throat."

I walked over to the reception desk and showed the nurse the form I cradled in my arms like a baby. The Cyndaquil had steadily been getting worse; the sock I had tied around his throat to help stop the bleeding looked as if it had been dropped into a pool of blood and even more ran out around it, tangling his chest fur into a sticky crimson mess. His breathing was slow and came in short wheezes, his fur was ghastly pale, and his entire body felt as if a fire was raging inside of him even more so then usual. As the nurse saw him she gasped and typed a flurry of words into the computer on the desk. "Chansey! There's a Cyndaquil here who needs treatment in the ER immediately!"

A pair of swinging doors burst open and out of it a pink, egg shaped Pokémon about as high as my waist waddled out, pushing a small stretcher ahead of it. "Chansey!" It said, looking at me and pointing at the stretcher with one of its stubby arms. Realizing what it wanted I reluctantly lay the Cyndaquil on the stretcher, being careful so as not to move him more then I had to. Out of my arms and lying helplessly on the stretcher he looked even worse then before, and as the Chansey began to pull the stretcher back through the doors I had to restrain myself from chasing after, feeling as if I would never see Cyndaquil again if I let him out of my sight. I knew I couldn't follow, however, and bit my lower lip as the doors flapped close behind the Chansey and the Cyndaquil bearing stretcher.

"What is your name and trainer ID, sir? Is that Cyndaquil yours? I'll need a full account on what happened." The nurse recited after the Chansey and Cyndaquil had left. Turning to her I slumped against the counter, folding my arms and hanging my head; only then realizing that the front of my shirt and my lower arms, bare as I was wearing a t-shirt, were covered in blood. I looked up at the nurse and tried to act stronger then I felt at the moment.

"My name is Shrike Flamestar and I don't have a trainer ID; I'm a student at The Pokémon Academy, the Rustboro campus, of course. No, the Cyndaquil is not mine, it belongs to the school. I really would rather not talk about what happened."

"I'm sorry, but we need to know what happened for our records, and we also need some form of identification, such as a school ID card. You said something about a knife cutting its throat? How did that occur?"

Sighing reluctantly I gave in and told her what had happened, meanwhile trying to convince myself that it had all been a dream. When I finally finished I was worn out from being forced to retell the tale and I slumped down farther as I dug my school ID out of my pocket and laid it on the counter. Picking it up the nurse finished typing whatever she had been working on and gave a small nod as she glanced at me and handed my ID back.

"You can go and sit down now; the washrooms are over there if you want to wash off. As soon as we have the Cyndaquil in a stable condition we'll let you in to see it."

I staggered over to a chair that gave a good view of the glass wall that made up half of the circular room's parameter and dropped down into it, setting my backpack onto the floor, not caring for the blood on me. My right arm throbbed from where Zelos' knife had fallen and cut me, the sock I had tied around it showing hints of blood starting to soak through, however I ignored it and stared blankly out the glass wall. A few minutes later I sighed and snapped out of the trance I had been in as I reached into one of my jeans pockets, pulling out a rectangular metal device about the size and shape of a book. Sliding a stylus pen out of it I flipped open the tablet PC's cover and tapped at the screen, pulling up a story about a Pokémon trainer that I was working on. I tried to continue writing in it, yet found that I just wasn't in the mood right now to write anything and instead checked to see if I could get a wireless internet connection in the Pokémon Center, only to be prompted with a screen saying,

_>Wireless internet service in this Pokémon Center is restricted to licensed Pokémon  
>Trainers and personnel only. Please login with your full name and Trainer ID.  
>  
>NAME:  
>TRAINER ID#:_

Defeated, I closed my tablet PC and returned the stylus to its slot before replacing the PC back into my pocket. For about five more minutes I sat there blankly, trying not to think about anything at all, as if that would make things normal again, until I was snapped aware by a familiar cell phone ring. I grabbed my cell phone off of its clip on my belt and looked at the small external display on which the number calling me was shown. I didn't recognize the number but nevertheless I flipped it open to answer the call. "Hello?"

"Hey, Shrike. How's the Cyndaquil doing?" Rayne's voice responded. I suddenly remembered that we had swapped phone numbers when we were first grouped together, but I hadn't bothered to memorize hers and instead just saved it to my phone's address book.

"Don't know. He was in really bad shape when I got here, but I haven't heard anything farther yet. I'll call you back as soon as I know anything."

"Okay... Wait, hold on, Mr. Neil wants to talk to you."

"Huh? You mean Neil, the assistant principal? What's he want?"

"Ask him yourself, here..." And then in a different voice that I didn't recognize all that well, "Hello? Shrike Flamestar, is it? I trust that this isn't some kind of prank?"

"Yes, I am Shrike, sir. And no, this isn't a prank; why would anyone joke about this?"

"Well, we have plenty of eyewitnesses so there's not much doubt to that matter, instead I wanted to talk with you in regards to the Cyndaquil that is currently being treated by the Pokémon Center between our campus and Rustboro City proper, that's the one, right?"

"Um, I suppose so. All I know is that this is the Pokémon Center that is right next to the school and which we were told is where we should go if a Pokémon in our possession is injured severely and beyond the care of the school's infirmary. Since the cut Cyndaquil received was so deep and directly on his throat, as I'm sure Rayne has already told you, I thought it best to bring him here."

"Good thing you did, from the sounds of it this matter is far out of the hands of our doctors. The real problem we have on our hands right now, however, is that of your current possession of the Cyndaquil itself. See, by law a Pokémon Center can only return a Pokémon to the person who brought it in in the first place, hence why they take your name and trainer ID if you have one. You do not have to stay at the Center for the entire time, of course, although I have seen fit to arrange to have you excused from classes for the rest of the day, as per Professor Jura's request; however some of the board members are concerned that this period of time may leave an imprint of sorts on you."

"An imprint, sir?" I was puzzled, both over what Mr. Neil meant and why Professor Jura requested that I be excused from classes for the day; I had never heard of him being considerate to anyone besides himself before.

"A psychological one, yes. Quite frankly some people are worried that you will grow attached to the Cyndaquil and believe that it is your own Pokémon even though that is most certainly not the case, especially with such a specimen as this one; I am under the impression that it is of an abnormal coloring."

"Somewhat, his chest fur has some extra chemicals in them that give his chest a sort of red shine; the shine is only on his chest, however. If it was over his full body he'd be outright rare, but being half-and-half like this is merely uncommon nowadays."

"Professor Jura taught you this?"

"Yes, sir."

For a moment there was only the sound of papers being shuffled through, followed by silence. Shortly Mr. Neil spoke up again, "That's it for now. As I have already said, you have been excused from classes for the day, but I fully expect you to be back tomorrow with this incident out of your mind."

"I understand, sir."

With a click the phone call ended and I closed my cell phone, clutching it tightly in my hand as I thought on what Mr. Neil had said. It was clear they wanted to press in the point that Cyndaquil belonged to them and not me, yet my mind kept on slipping around the thought, not bearing to think about it. I didn't want to admit it but the mindset the school feared I would slip into I already had. Anxious for something else to take my mind away from those thoughts I stood up and reattached my cell phone to its clip as I walked over to the reception desk. "How's Cyndaquil doing? Can I see him yet?"

"We're sorry, sir. He is still in the emergency room, but should be ready to be moved to intensive care any minute now. As soon as his condition is stable we'll be sure to notify you. If you want to leave the building you can give me your phone number and we will call you if necessary." The nurse said, not looking away from her work.

"No, that's not needed. Not now, anyways. I can wait here."

The next few hours passed uneventfully, most of the time being spent working on some homework I had built up. Eventually I changed my shirt with a spare one from my backpack and washed off the blood caked on my arms, replacing the sock wrapped around my cut with a cloth bandage a nurse gave me; I could tell that everyone else in the Pokémon Center was glad I had done so since I looked like I had killed someone before. Boringness finally got the better of me and I asked the nurse why I had to have a trainer's license to access the internet, only to find out that I could also use my school ID to get on and that they hadn't found the time to change the notice yet. Aggravated that they had been so lazy as to not change one little sentence around I finally made my way online and logged into a chat room that me and some of my online friends hung out on.

_>FireBird has joined the chat  
>FireBird: Hey guys, sorry I couldn't get on last night.  
>LordDark: Hey, FB! So why weren't you on last night? Why are you on now?  
>FireBird: It was my turn to look after the Cyndaquil for my school project.  
>LordDark: Ah, I see. Still, shouldn't you be in class now?  
>FireBird: I got excused...  
>chaos: ooh... faking being sick again?  
>FireBird: No, I got in a fight.  
>chaos: aha! i knew you had it in you! tell us all about it!  
>LordDark: Chaos, I have a feeling FB doesn't want to talk about it --  
>FireBird: No, that's all right, it's probably better if you knew, anyway.  
>FireBird: Or at least it may help me feel better.  
>chaos: w00t!  
__>__FireBird: It happened after GPS class.  
__>__FireBird: I was talking to Rayne when I saw two people come out of the classroom.  
__>__chaos: hmm, rayne, never heard of her before. is she your gf? have any pictures? is she hot?  
__>__FireBird: NO! NO! And, erm...  
__>__chaos: so I struck a nerve :D  
__>__LordDark: Can you just let FB finish before you ask questions?  
__>__FireBird: Anyways, One of the men was holding a Cyndaquil.  
__>__FireBird: I recognized it as being the same one Rayne and I were studying in GPS.  
__>__chaos restrains himself from making a snide remark about fb x rayne  
__>__FireBird: When they realized I knew they had stolen it they threatened to decapitate it right then and there.  
__>__chaos: ... now that's fucked up.  
__>__LordDark: Why would they do that?  
__>__FireBird: They claimed they needed a test subject for an experiment involving Pokémon anatomy.  
__>__FireBird: If I wanted to stop them they said they would begin right there, so they did.  
__>__LordDark: Have you reported them to the police? That's just wrong!  
__>__FireBird: I think Rayne might have, if not the school probably has.  
__>__c__haos: so you fought them off in a valiant effort to get the cyndaquil back?  
__>__FireBird: Kind of, except I was frozen in shock for a while as they slowly cut into Cyndaquil's neck.  
__>__chaos feels sick.  
__>__LordDark does to.  
__>__FireBird: Then Rayne knocked out the person who was holding him.  
__>__FireBird: But the other guy got to him before I could and began to cut into his throat faster.  
__>__FireBird: I finally came to my senses and wrenched the knife away from Cyndaquil's neck,  
__>__FireBird: Before punching the guy in the gut causing him to drop Cyndaquil, who I got to first this time.  
__>__chaos: and the day is saved!  
__>__FireBird: He also dropped his knife, which cut into MY arm.  
__>__chaos: LOL  
__>__LordDark: How is it funny when FB gets hurt, but sick when a Cyndaquil does?  
__>__FireBird: They then ran away or something.  
__>__FireBird: So I was left with the Cyndaquil whose neck they had just cut into about an inch or so deep.  
__>__FireBird: I brought him to the Pokémon Center right outside the school,  
__>__FireBird: And have been here for a couple hours now.  
__>__FireBird: Fortunately I brought my PC and my trusted backpack o' supplies.  
__>__chaos: so, about rayne...  
__>__LordDark smacks Chaos  
__>__LordDark: Wow, are you okay? How's the Cyndaquil? Who the hell would do such a thing OO  
__>__FireBird: Yes, I'm okay now. Don't know as they aren't telling me. Their names are Zelos and Ramirez.  
__>__FireBird: You haven't happened to hear about them before, have you?  
__>__LordDark: Hmm, nope, don't ring a bell.  
__>__chaos: how old is rayne?  
>LordDark summons Ho-Oh to attack Chaos with Sacred Fire, turning him completely to ashes.  
>chaos: i feel unwanted here :(_

"Excuse me? You are Shrike Flamestar, correct?"

Blinking I looked up from my conversation, finding that a new nurse, this one with black hair tied back in a bun yet otherwise looking similar to the receptionist, was standing over me. "Yes. Is this about Cyndaquil? How is he?"

"He is fine; he will have to remain in intensive care for a while longer, we're guessing a couple days at least, but his condition has stabilized enough to allow you to see him."

Quickly I stood up, hastily typing the letters "BRB" on the onscreen keyboard of my PC before sliding it into my pocket, following the nurse through the same doors Cyndaquil had left through and down a white walled hallway, past several doors branching off the main path and carts piled high with medical equipment. We passed a couple more nurses and doctors as well as a Chansey or two before finally turning through a door labeled "Intensive Care. Authorized personnel and escorted visitors ONLY!"

"He is in here, please try to be quiet." The nurse said, inserting a keycard into a slot besides a door with a plaque that read 'FT-S1.' The door slid aside smoothly and I nervously stepped into the pitch black room. I couldn't make out a thing and fumbled around for a light switch before suddenly a single, small lamp next to a bed turned on as the nurse pressed a button on the panel outside the room. The lamp didn't reveal much about the room other then the small bed with a bundle of blankets on top a couple of yards from the door, the rest of the room being hid in darkness. I nearly cried out in joy as I ran over to stand next to the bed, stifling the urge to reach out and take the sleeping form of Cyndaquil away with me now.

He looked haggard and worn, however he had been thoroughly washed and not a drop of blood could be seen anymore throughout his fur. The cut on his neck which had been bleeding so profusely before had been stitched close; his head and neck held tightly in a metal clamp attached to the bed so that the stitch wouldn't tear open in case he moved in his sleep. A couple of IVs ran from his side and there were flattened places in his fur where various sensors had been before but were now removed.

"I must admit, this was one of the worst cases I've ever seen. Injuries of this magnitude are more common in the center of the city, not its outskirts. Still, the doctors believe he should be almost back to normal within a month; however he can leave here before then as long as whoever cares for him makes sure he gets plenty of rest." The nurse said, walking over to me as I dropped to my knees next to the bed.

"'Almost'. What does that mean?" I asked as I watched Cyndaquil's stomach rise and fall. Just as it had when I put him in his cage, before Zelos and Ramirez kidnapped him and started this whole mess.

"Well, while his trachea and carotid arteries were fortunately uninjured, the sacs of methane gas that Cyndaquils and their evolutions use to produce fire out of their mouths were badly damaged. It is not known rather they will heal on their own, although it is suspected unlikely. While the methane gas sacs are damaged like this he will not be able to produce any fire out of his mouth, although he will still be able to on his back since those use a different ignition method." The nurse said. I looked grimly at the stitch on Cyndaquil's neck and sighed.

"So, in other words, he won't be able to use attacks such as Ember, Flamethrower, and the like." Cautiously I reached out and smoothed a patch of Cyndaquil's fur that was sticking straight up. "Don't know why I care, though. It's not like he's mine, and it's not as if the school will just hand him over to me like they would a textbook."

"Yet you look as though you care for him a great deal."

"I do. Before this happened I was assigned to keep watch and record data on him for a school project. During that time I grew to like him, and was disappointed that it was unlikely I'd ever be able to see him again after we finished due to the school's policy against letting students visit the school's Pokémon. Despite my disappointment I was still able to cope with losing him to the school at that point, however. But then, when Zelos and Ramirez came and were about to kill him, I snapped; I suddenly realized that he is the Pokémon I want to partner with, to journey out into the world side by side with. Except, I'm only a sophomore, I still have two more years until I'm released from school. I could always drop out, seeing as there's no law forbidding dropouts from getting their training licenses, yet even then there's still the matter that he's the school's property and if I were to take him I'd be no better then Zelos and Ramirez. Without the killing, of course. I doubt my dad would be very happy if I dropped out either, he's the one who sent me to this school to begin with, after all."

"Perhaps you should try talking to the school board." A harsh voice said from the doorway.

Startled I swung around to face the intruder and stifled a gasp of surprise as I found myself looking at a familiar, tall and elderly man; his head topped with wiry gray hair and his hands clasped behind his back as he stared at me sternly. "Professor Jura! What are you doing here; I thought you had a class now?"

"I do. I figured the students in that class are so lackluster when it comes to Pokémon, however, that my presence there wouldn't make any difference whatsoever. So I left them to themselves; locking all the doors and windows, of course." Professor Jura said as he walked over to where the nurse and I were huddled around Cyndaquil's bed. "Move out of the way. I want to see the Cyndaquil. It is my Pokémon, of course."

"Sir, you can't be back here, this is a restricted area. Only staff and visitors under escort are allowed in here." The nurse stammered, surprised by the abruptness of Professor Jura.

"Ah, Shrike's my escort. Besides, just try and stop me." Professor Jura growled as he pushed his way past the nurse and next to where I stood, towering over my kneeling form as he stared down at me. "What are you doing on the ground, boy? Praying?"

Wondering what was the best way to escape from Professor Jura's gaze yet still remain with the Cyndaquil I quickly stood up. "Watching him sleep. You can't see his neck when you kneel, so he looks almost the same as before it all; as I wish it could be. I know he's not my Pokémon, yet I've found that I care for him all the same now."

For what had to be the first time these past two years I've had with him, Professor Jura actually briefly smiled and nodded at me. "Good. You care for something other then yourself, a trait I've found rare among my students these days. Yet, you need to come to terms with what is and not your vision of a perfect reality, so I forbid you from kneeling for now."

"Yes, sir." I nodded submissively, looking down at the stitched cut which I had indirectly caused out of my negligence.

"Excuse me, sir, but you really need to—" The nurse began, but Professor Jura cut her off.

"I'll leave when I'm good and ready, and I most certainly am not now. Do I look like I am disturbing anything; I am but an old man after all. And will you all please stop calling me 'sir,' it's starting to get on my nerves."

"Professor Jura? Pardon my asking, but what _are_ you doing here? I doubt you left your class just so you could checkup on Cyndaquil, something which you could have easily called and done." Remembering something else he had said I quickly added, "Also, you mentioned something about him being yours? Are you referring to how he's used in your class?"

"You make a good point on my being here, and indeed I am not here merely to check up on the Cyndaquil. I am here to check up on you. The school board is going all willy-nilly over the Cyndaquil's condition, yet everyone seems to be forgetting the human factor involved."

"But, you could have called me just the same."

"Some things you need to do in person, and my task here today is one of them."

Utterly confused now I tried changing the subject again, "About you calling Cyndaquil yours, even though he's the school's..."

"Tell me, Shrike. What do you plan to do now?" Professor Jura asked, once again ignoring the new subject I proposed.

"What do I plan to do now? I don't know, I suppose I can try and arrange with the school board to be allowed to see him every once in a while, as you suggested."

"I suggested nothing of the sort. I said you should try speaking with the school board and that was all, I never said about what."

"Then, what _do_ you suggest I do?"

"You must decide that for yourself. I am your General Pokémon Studies teacher, not your guidance counselor after all."

By now I was starting to get frustrated and didn't know what to say, so remained silent instead. Trying to stay calm I gently petted Cyndaquil, being sure to keep my fingers away from the stitch on his neck and the IVs that emerged out of his side.

"More caring. Compassion and tenderness too. You remind me of, well, that is not important right now. I believe I have seen what I need to and thus I will be making my leave now; hopefully those scamps haven't torn apart the classroom in my absence." Professor Jura said, turning around and pushing his way past the nurse who had been standing by the door silently after it became apparent that Jura wasn't listening to her. Stopping in the doorway he turned back around to me, giving me another of his stern stares. "Tomorrow after class, which you will attend, no excuses, I wish to talk with you farther. Until then, think about what you want to do, what you need to do, and what you will do." With that Professor Jura was gone, quickly shuffling off down the hallway. I stared at the empty door a moment longer before turning back to Cyndaquil. _What_ am _I going to do?_ I thought to myself.

"Pardon me, sir, but you must leave now. The doctors want to checkup on the Cyndaquil's progress." The nurse said to me as another person in a white lab coat who must have come into the room while I hadn't been paying attention walked back out the door and away.

Nodding I stroked Cyndaquil's chest one last time and turned away from him, walking briskly down the hall as I remembered from when the nurse had led me to Cyndaquil's room. Coming back out into the reception area I looked out the glass wall at the clear evening sky. It was nearly nine now, yet it seemed like mere minutes ago that it had all started. My exhaustion hitting me like a hammer I quickly scribbled my cell phone number on a piece of paper and gave it to the pink haired nurse at the reception desk, reminding her of my name and telling her that I wanted to be called if absolutely anything of importance happened to Cyndaquil.

Gathering up my stuff from where I had left it by my chair I walked out through the Pokémon Center's door, my mind filled with troubled thoughts yet not wanting anything more then to know that everything would turn out all right in regards to Cyndaquil and my newfound bond with him.

**End of Chapter 2**  



	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Fire. It was everywhere; burning like the very bowels of Hell itself. In my panic I looked all around me, yet saw nothing but the infernal rage of fire.

_"The Cruel Flame; he has appeared once again."_

The voice rang from everywhere around me, yet at the same time from within me. It echoed around me and through me to no end. I looked around for the source, yet still saw nothing but the blaze of fire.

"_The Fierce Flame; he will rise once again."_

Again I saw nothing, but the words themselves were so real and thick that beyond the shimmering of the heat which I could not feel I could see the very air vibrate from the words' presence.

_"The Path of Light; the time has come once again."_

And then, out of the fire, a blurred shape burst. It rose into the air with unfathomable speed, wings unfolding from around its body and showering me in a rain of embers. I could not make out any details about it except the pair of flaming red, yet gentle and all-knowing eyes that stared down at me and pierced through my soul like a spear.

_"Upon wings of fire The Fierce Flame flies,_

_Towards destiny, where The Cruel Flame lies."  
_

_

* * *

_I couldn't get any sleep at all that night, despite how tired I was. No matter how much I tried I kept on having this weird dream over and over again, each time waking up exactly fifteen minutes after I last fell asleep. The strangest part was that I knew every time I slept the dream was the same, yet I was never able to remember it afterwards. Finally giving up I stumbled out of bed and into the small kitchen area I had set up in the corner of my dorm's main room, the "kitchen" basically being comprised of a small refrigerator, small microwave, and a small toaster oven all stacked on top of each other with a small coffee maker set on top like the star of a Christmas tree. Fumbling I poured some water into the coffee maker from a bottle set next to it and scooped some beans from a plastic bag into a chute on the coffee maker's side before pressing a final button on the front of it, the harsh sound of it grinding the beans up greatly irritating me and effectively waking me up a good deal before the water had even boiled yet.

Letting the coffee maker to its own devices I moved over to the computer desk sitting a few feet away from my kitchen area and pulled the chair out from in front of it, dropping into it like I was dead, which I didn't feel all that different from at the moment. Moaning to myself I turned on my computer monitor and winced at the sharp glare of the screen; squinting my eyes so as to let them adjust to the light I looked at the computer's clock. "2:54" it read, and just the sight of that time knocked me out again.

Waking up exactly fifteen minutes later from exactly the same unknowable dream I nearly screamed as I opened my eyes up to the blinding glare of my computer monitor, mentally reminding myself to set a dark screensaver instead of none at all whenever I had the time. Knowing that sleep was a lost cause that night I pushed my chair over to my kitchen and blindly grabbed the coffee pot from the top of the stack of appliances, succeeding in only spilling a couple large drops and managing to hold on as the scalding hot liquid burned my arm. I filled a styrofoam cup three-quarters full with the coffee and slowly sipped it, trying unsuccessfully to wake me up. Grumbling about why I even bothered to drink coffee when the noise of it being ground woke me up more then the actual liquid itself I scooted over to my desk and growled as I brought up the Internet with a shaky hand, wondering what I was doing.

For some unfathomable reason I had set my homepage to the school's personal news website. Usually the most exciting thing on it were results of school sanctioned Pokémon battles, however as it opened up this time I nearly dropped my coffee in surprise. As what I was seeing reached my brain, I _did_ drop my coffee in surprise.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! SHIT!" I screamed, jumping out of my chair and running around my room as I flailed my arms and yelled every swear word I knew as loud as I could before managing to direct myself towards the bathroom and falling face first into the bathtub, not even bothering to take my clothes off as I turned the water onto its coldest setting. Only once I had the water running and the water spout directed at my groin did I strip my clothes off, boiling coffee dripping from them and onto the rest of my legs. Finally I got all my clothes off and lay in the bathtub naked with my coffee soaked clothes lying in a puddle next to the bathtub at only around 3:12 in the morning.

"Dude, you really need to learn how to wank off properly."

Startled by the voice I hastily tried to cover myself up as I turned to see who it was. Standing in the other door leading into the bathroom stood a tall boy not much older then myself; Mark, the guy who lived in the dorm next to mine and who I was forced to share a bathroom with. His black hair hung over his eyes like curtains as he stood there in nothing except a pair of gray boxers, his chest and limbs thick with muscles; a stark contrast to the flab which covered me. Not that I was exactly _fat_, yet I couldn't say I was perfect either.

"Speak for yourself; I've heard some pretty disturbing things coming from your room sometimes. Besides, I dropped a whole cup of coffee on my crotch, what do you expect me to do?" I said as I turned off the water and stood up, quickly grabbing a towel off the towel rack and wrapping it around myself. I wasn't embarrassed about being seen naked, however didn't want it to last any longer then it had to.

"Ah, you would understand those noises and why they are in fact good if you were ever to get a social life and a girlfriend. Hmm, how about that goth chick, what's her name... Rayne! Yeah, stressful experiences like what happened with that you and her and that Cynda... Cynda... What's it called? Ah, doesn't matter. But as I was saying, you could use what happened to—" Mark began as he leaned against the wall, nodding at me and looking my nearly naked body over, a hint of disapproval in his eyes.

"Don't even go there." I growled, cutting him off. "Besides, Rayne isn't goth, nor do I want to know her anymore then I do now."

"But she wears black all the time, her hair is black, she's completely secretive, and is always by herself; maybe she's not quite goth but she's awfully close. And I know you've been talking to her, and she you, and you have to take what you can. Especially you."

"Oh, get a life." I stormed, jumping out of the bathtub and pushing Mark back through his door, across from the one I had entered by, and shutting it after him.

"Get a girlfriend!" Mark yelled back at me through the door.

Sufficiently awake and agitated now I wringed out my coffee soaked clothes and tossed them over a drying bar before exiting back into my room. I walked over to my clothes dresser and pulled out a random pair of blue jeans and a red t-shirt, pulling them on as I walked back to my computer. "Damn it, why did they have to go and pull a story on this..." I mumbled to myself as I took a closer look at the headline on the school's news site, "_Chaos mounts as school Pokémon is kidnapped and nearly killed. Saved by two students._"

Giving in to the fact that now everyone at the school would know what had happened I dropped back down into my bed to try and process for myself what had truly happened. I ran the scene of the previous day's events over and over in my head, witnessing once again that horrific struggle between me, Rayne, Zelos, and Ramirez; all over a sole Cyndaquil. Why had I cared so much? Yes, I've always cared about Pokémon, but to put my own life in danger to save one that didn't even belong to me? And why had Zelos been so interested in him? He said he needed him to "further his research," but research of what? And then there was Ramirez who seemed to be completely uncaring towards anything other then Zelos and torturing Cyndaquil, not to mention his strange eyes, hissing, and slur. How did it all fit together?

Then, Professor Jura; he had convinced Mr. Neil to excuse me from classes the previous day, then came to visit not Cyndaquil but me at the Pokémon Center. To make it more confusing, he had acted completely different then normal during that visit, as if he had finally found something he had been searching for all these years he's taught at the school. Then there was the evident slipup he had made by referring to Cyndaquil as his Pokémon, despite us having been told that all the Pokémon at the school except for those earned by the seniors who had already obtained their trainer licenses were school property and owned collectively by the staff, not any one teacher.

Thoughts of Professor Jura led to the memory of his parting words to me, "_Tomorrow after class, which you will attend, no excuses, I wish to talk with you farther. Until then, think about what you want to do, what you need to do, and what you will do._" What did he want with me? Why was it so important that I think about what I want, need, and will do? Did I even have any clue towards those?

_Yes, I do have a clue. I want Cyndaquil to be fine, and then to be allowed to keep him. I need to convince the school board that I should be allowed to keep Cyndaquil. As for what I will do, I need to find out _how_ I can do that. I need to find precedent for this._ My mind resolved, I jumped out of my bed and hurried over to my computer, logging into the school's online library and entering a chat session with the on duty librarian; even though it was very early in the morning someone was always on duty.

_>ShrikeFlamestar has joined the chat  
>Librarian08: Hello, how can I help you?  
>ShrikeFlamestar: Where can I find records of major school board decisions, such as releasing a school Pokémon?  
_

* * *

I didn't get any sleep that night, but by the time the sun began to rise I found that I felt as if I had taken the longest sleep ever. I had spent the whole night looking around the school's library, extracting shards of information from as many sources as I could find and compiling them all into a text document. Finally I had all I hoped that I needed and printed it all out; flipping through the pages to make sure everything was there. It wasn't that much, but if I played it right before the school board I just might stand a chance. Tucking the papers into my backpack I couldn't help but think about how much I was acting like a lawyer right now and laughed at the thought. 

Finally first bell rang, alerting everyone to the fact that there was only one hour left before classes began. Normally I would have stayed in my dorm for as long as possible, but having been stuck in there researching all night I wanted to talk a walk now. I gathered up my backpack and flung it over my shoulders, removing my tablet PC from its docking stand next to my computer and sliding it into an inside pocket of my black jacket, outlined with red lines, that I had pulled on over my dark red shirt. My cell phone was then also removed from its docking stand and attached to its belt clip on my black belt. Finally I slid my watch on and decided I was ready. Pushing my glasses back up my noise I opened my dorm's door and stepped out into walkway that ran around the dorm building just like on the main building. My head down in thought I set off along the walkway, no real destination in mind; I was just winging it as I went.

* * *

Throughout the day I was constantly worrying that someone would come up to me and try to get me to talk about what had happened. I was surprised that no one did, however, and guessed that most people in this school didn't actually check the online news anyway and it would take a while for word to spread by mouth. I did notice a couple of people glancing at me as I passed, but got in the habit of ignoring them. 

My morning classes passed uneventfully, just more of the mind numbing dullness that is normal for classes that try to teach you things you already know; such as mathematics, computers, and, the worst of all, English. I never have understood why you have to take a class about your own language when you are obviously fluent in it since people can understand what you say.

Finally noon rolled around and I picked up some food at the cafeteria, taking it down to the park in the courtyard at the center of the main building to eat. I found a tree with some nice shade underneath it and sat down, slowly eating. I was about hallway done when I noticed a flash of black through the trees and squinted, trying to make it out. The sun was in my eyes but if I squinted just right I could barely make out a familiar figure behind a stand of trees, farther obscured by some tall bushes in the way. _Rayne... Is this where she's always going?_ I thought as I watched her. She seemed to be bending over something, her mouth moving as she quietly whispered something which I couldn't here. She dropped down below the bushes for a moment, before standing back up straight and looking around. I wasn't hidden like she was, so she easily saw where I was sitting. Our eyes met for a moment as I stood up. "Rayne? What are you doing?"

Surprised that I had seen her she yelped and put a hand to her waist which was hidden by the bushes. "Shrike! Er, uh, what are _you_ doing here? How are... How are you doing today?"

"I was eating, and I'm fine. In fact I think I have it all planned out now; what I'm going to say to the school board when I get a meeting with them. Is there someone with you?" I asked as I began to walk towards where Rayne was, noticing a rustling among the bushes.

"Er, no, of course not. I, I have to go now." Rayne stammered, a dim flash of red light coming from behind the bushes as she turned around and ran away from me. Confused I walked over to where she had been and looked at the ground. Leaves obscured most of it, however among them there were definitely two sets of footprints, one shoe shaped and the other more triangular with three smaller triangles at the wider end. They were definitely Pokémon tracks, but I couldn't be sure they were from just then. Pokémon wondered through the park all the time, maybe it had just been a wild one that came previously.

I looked at my watch and found I only had five minutes left in lunch before my next class, General Pokémon Studies, began. Quickly I finished my food and began the short trek back to the stairs and up the third floor, where Professor Jura's room was. As I emerged onto the third floor flight of the stairs I suddenly realized something, no doubt blood would have been tracked all over the balcony outside Professor Jura's room yesterday. Thus far I had managed to avoid thinking about the danger Cyndaquil had been in with my thoughts of convincing the school board to let me keep him; but if I saw all that blood again, would I be able to go on? Knowing I had no choice I turned out onto the balcony and looked towards Professor Jura's room, prepared for the worst. There was nothing there however, only a couple students hanging around. The air smelled faintly of disinfectant, but other then that there was no sign of yesterday's struggle.

"So, Shrike, I see you managed to make it today; I hear that you skipped all your classes after this one yesterday. Let us just hope that you can pay attention and aren't as careless today as you were yesterday." Professor Jura said snidely as I walked into the classroom. I grimaced and sighed, he was back to normal now. Whatever that meant. Silently I took my seat, noticing that Rayne was missing, once again. Some of the other people in the classroom looked at me, a mix of pity and ridicule among their collective eyes.

The class continued that way; Professor Jura taking potshots at me whenever he could, the other students silently dividing the classroom between the Professor Jura supporters and my supporters, and all the while me sitting there silently, unfazed, not bothering with writing anything in my stories today. I just wanted class to be over so I could find out why Professor Jura was acting like this, and, more importantly, what he wanted to talk with me for.

_Brrrrring!_

I blinked and looked up; everyone was leaving the room. I had still managed to zone out despite not writing, and sighing I got up, waiting until everyone but me and Professor Jura had left the room; him sitting behind his desk with his arms making a triangle with the desk, his interlocked fingers the peek upon which his head rested; and me standing a distance off, wary as if this was some sort of trap. "So, what do you want with me? And what was with that little act of yours?"

"If I were to act kindly towards you, don't you think everyone would get suspicious? They expect me to be harsh, and so I am. That is not important right now, though, what _is_ is the future. I asked you to think about what you want, need, and will do last night, so now I ask you this; what _did_ you do?" Professor Jura asked, motionless behind his desk as he peered at me over his glasses, his eyes softer then they had been during class yet still deadly serious.

"I researched the school's history and put together some information. I couldn't find any case exactly the same as mine, but I found some things that will hopefully hold as precedent." I took the papers out of my backpack and handed them to Professor Jura. He looked over them for a moment and nodded.

"Yes, I thought as much." Professor Jura frowned as he looked at the papers again. "Well than, you'll be needing these." Professor Jura reached into a drawer in his desk and shuffled around, as if he was looking for something. Meanwhile I stood, clueless, wondering just what I'd be needing what for. Before I could ask, however, Professor Jura pulled out what he had been searching for and set them on his desk. "The school board doesn't seem fit to supply you with the standard trainer gear, expecting you to pay for it yourself seeing as how this is such an unusual circumstance; your moderately rich family lineage didn't help either. I have no use for these anymore, so I suppose you may take them."

In shocked confusion I looked down at the glossy red Pokédex and shiny, red and white Pokéballs that Professor Jura had laid out on his desk. In an awkward, dream like trance I walked closer and picked up the Pokédex, looking it over carefully. It was a fairly new model, only a few years old, but it looked as if it was brand new and had never been used before. I ran my finger over the touch sensitive button power button on its side and it sprang open like a cell phone after an additional panel that had held the two halves together like a clamp flipped open to the right side.

_"No trainer data found. Please insert Trainer ID to continue." _The Pokédex's electronic voice said as words that read out to be the same appeared on the screen set into the top half of the Pokédex while a 3D Pokéball render spun around on the touch sensitive bottom screen. The small screen on the third, flip-out panel remained black. I ran my finger over the power button again and the Pokédex's screens all turned off as it folded back into a palm sized rectangle. I glanced at the Pokéballs but they were all standard fare; six small, half red, half white spheres with a black band around their middle at the center of which sat a white button.

"Wait, these are all mine? But I'm still a student; I don't need these; I haven't said anything to the school board yet and there's no guarantee they'll say yes! Hell, I'm not even going to ask them to be a trainer! I just want to keep Cyndaquil in my dorm room!"

Professor Jura locked his fingers together again and rested his chin on them, nodding. "There was never any need for you to speak with the school board, nor for you to find all this." Jura gestured to the papers I had printed up as he said it. "You see, I have already taken care of everything. I wasn't sure you possessed the will and determination required for the path ahead of you, however, so I needed to test you to make sure. I have already held meetings with both the school board and your father and together we have reached a settlement in regards to your possession of Cyndaquil and your farther education. The school board does not want you to have a Pokémon within school boundaries. Your father wants you to stay in school. An interesting predicament."

"My _father_? You've been talking to him? Why can't I have a Pokémon here on campus! Why have I not been a part of this! Does it not concern _my_ future, after all!" I yelled angrily. _Father! They should have let _me_ talk to him! Of course, I highly doubt any good would have come of that... But still! _I thought to myself.

Professor Jura ignored my outburst and continued from where he had left off. "The only choice is to have you leave the school, yet still continue your studies remotely. You living with your father is out of the question, of course. I can see that you and your father have a rocky relationship, as he absolutely refuses to let you live with him no matter the circumstances."

I gave a huff of breath and turned my head away. "The whole reason he wants me _in_ school is to keep me _away_ from him. I can't say I disagree."

"I see; I won't pry any deeper, however. Now, that leaves us with two choices; either you can move into an apartment of your own, or you can become a Pokémon Trainer. I can easily say that the choice is quite obvious, rather you see it in yourself or not."

I lowered my eyes and looked at my feet, thinking for a moment. "If you had spoken to me just yesterday, I may have said I didn't see it. However, I think I am beginning to." I looked up at Professor Jura, determination flaring in my eyes. "No. I _am_ seeing it. While this may not be quite how I was picturing it happening, and it is two years sooner then I had expected, becoming a Pokémon Trainer is still my dream, and I will grasp it despite the circumstances. There is nothing left for me here, anyways. When I saved Cyndaquil from Zelos and Ramirez I had a fleeting glimpse of what I can only assume is my future, or at least a version of it, and nothing here has seemed the same since. This school is no longer my place, and I can see that now." I picked the Pokédex up again and looked it over. "Only two questions; why have you been doing this for me, and where did you get this stuff?"

Professor Jura reclined back in his chair and closed his eyes. "Both can be answered at the same time. Look those papers of yours over again and you will find your answers."

Setting the Pokédex back down again, this time closer to me, I picked the papers I had printed out back up. Rifling through them I looked for any indication of what Professor Jura was talking about, but found nothing. "What am I supposed to be looking for?"

"You'll know it when you see it. It's only mentioned once."

I looked back through the papers again when I suddenly found what I was looking for in an old newspaper article I had thrown in from the newspaper archives

_At our request the teenager openly revealed more about the incident leading up to his leaving of the newly founded Pokémon Academy.  
_

_"There's really not much to talk about. I was walking along in the park within the school's courtyard one day and found an injured Growlithe. I couldn't just leave him lying there, so I brought him to my room to help nurse him back to health. I tried to keep it a secret, but the school board found out anyways. I was given two choices, to abandon the Growlithe to a Pokémon shelter, or to leave the school. Obviously I chose the second. I dropped out of school, got licensed as a Pokémon Trainer, and here I am now." Martin Jura Springler freely told us._

_The Pokémon Academy school board, upon questioning, denies the event ever took place._

Surprised I looked up at Professor Jura. "'Martin Jura Springler,' is that you?"

Professor Jura nodded and looked out the open door forlornly. "Most of the school board has changed since I went to school here, and even those people who were around during my time have no memory of those events. The fact that it never went on record means that literally no one but me, and now you, here knows about my history here."

I looked back at the Pokédex and frowned. "But there's still something missing. This Pokédex is only a couple years old, that news article has to be at least forty years old. And if you were a Pokémon Trainer, where are all your Pokémon now?"

Professor Jura continued to look forlornly out the door, as if hoping to see something that he hadn't seen in many years. "I can't deny that I long for the past. Despite it's uselessness to me in my current condition, I have a habit of upgrading to newer technology when it is available. I suppose you could call me somewhat of a geek, not so much unlike yourself. I am afraid, however, that no amount of hopeful thinking on my part will be able to bring my younger days back. No, I am far too old; old enough that I have outlived many of my former allies. Your new Cyndaquil is the baby of a Typhlosion I used to have. He was born two months ago, and she passed away at the same time, giving birth to him."

My eyes widened as it all came together. "So, that is why you were gone for a few days around two months ago, we all thought it odd since you never seem to miss a day. Also, now that I think of it, Cyndaquil appeared in class the day you came back as well."

Professor Jura nodded. "Previously I had been keeping Typhlosion in my home as she was very old and it was my duty to care for her; while I can't recall her exact age it's been at least fifteen years since I quit being a trainer. When she died and gave birth to Cyndaquil, however, I knew I couldn't keep a baby such as him at home all alone during the day, nor did I want to abandon him to a random shelter. I managed to set up some special arrangements with the school board so that I could take care of him here during the day as well, but unfortunately it has become apparent to me that I am too old to be caring for Pokémon like this any longer. Now that fate has seen fit to intertwine the two of you, I see now that it is time for us to part ways. I can not speak for how he will take to it, however I know that you will do your best."

The influx of new information I had learned in the past couple of minutes was nearly too much for me. I felt like I was going to explode from trying to piece it all together. Professor Jura could tell and chuckled. "Let me remind you that your Cyndaquil still needs to rest at the Pokémon Center for a couple more days, at least for the rest of the week. During these next few days you will still have to attend school here like normal, even if your days left here are limited. On the upside this will give you time to prepare, however it may not be wise to reveal why you are leaving to your peers. As the school board does not know about this meeting I am sure they will contact you sometime between now and Friday, but try to act like this is something new; I don't want to potentially get in trouble for this. I shouldn't, however you can never be sure with school politics."

I nodded and stood up, taking the Pokéballs and Pokédex and putting them in my backpack. "I really don't know what to say; it's just too much. I thank you for all you have done for me, really, I do. I'll take care of Cyndaquil no matter what happens, and perhaps one day I'll be able to find a way to pay you back for all of this."

Professor Jura smiled as I turned towards the door. "Just don't forget that you still are in school, and you still will be. I made a mistake in dropping out, but you will be continuing all your courses online, as I am sure the school board will drill into your head." I nodded and walked through the door, pausing as Jura yelled after me again. "Oh, by the way, the Cyndaquil's name is Zethro. The name has importance to me, so I would prefer if you would continue calling him that."

"Zethro..." I mumbled. _That's a strange name..._ "Don't worry; Zethro he is and Zethro he shall remain. I won't intrude on your privacy by asking where it came from, just as you are leaving my relationship with father alone."

As I walked down the hall I heard the sound of Professor Jura's voice quietly from the room behind me. What it was he was saying, however, I couldn't make out.

* * *

The remaining days of school in that week went by surprisingly fast. The fact that nothing really spectacular happened didn't hurt. I was expecting to have to somehow explain to my teachers the situation, however they all acknowledged me in a way that told me that they knew I would be leaving come Friday. When Mr. Neil came to see me in the middle of lunch on Wednesday, the day after my chat with Professor Jura, he told me pretty much the same stuff that I had already been told, with slightly more emphasis on my continuing education and his displeasure of having to sort this all out. I blankly responded with "Yeah" when it was needed, "Perhaps" when it seemed appropriate, "Sounds great." when it indeed did, and finally "I'll do my best" when Neil finished and left me, him none the wiser of my previous knowledge regarding the matter. 

Unfortunately, I didn't see Rayne any more at all that week so as to talk with her more about what had happened Tuesday during lunch. True, she was frequently missing, but this period of her absence was abnormally long and I wondered what could be going on with her. I contemplated informing one of the staff or teachers, however in the end decided it wasn't worthwhile and continued my preparations to leave. I had a lot of junk in my dorm that needed to be cleaned up, along with my personal stuff such as my computer which I needed to send to my Dad's house to keep there while I was away. To be safe I removed my computer's hard drive and put it in my backpack within an anti-static bag before I boxed the computer all up and sent it out in a shipping truck; I sure as hell didn't want my father to be snooping around my Computer.

Every day I went down to the Pokémon Center to check in on Zethro. He was quickly getting better and for that I was relieved, I didn't want to miss my chance to leave on Friday, the earliest date possible. On Wednesday he woke up, though, allowing me to talk with him some. Kneeling besides his bed I quietly whispered to him of how we were leaving on Friday, to go and journey the world. At first he seemed to be somewhat frightened of the idea, however quickly he began to take to it, and by the next night was eager to leave.

Finally Friday came and I trudged through the day, saying my goodbyes to all my classmates who hadn't even had so much as a clue that I was leaving up until the end of each of my classes, General Pokémon Studies included, at which time I proudly declared "Hey, anybody who knows and cares about me! I'm leaving this place tonight, so if you have any last concerns you would like to ask me, well, you may as well just forget about it as I'm to busy lost in thought right now. See ya, I'll be sure to tell all my Pokémon about how boring school was compared to the life I will be living!" I think Professor Jura had a glint of amusement in his eyes at that, actually.

Finally the final bell rang and I ran out of my last class triumphantly, jumping around and speeding off down the balcony like a Snorlax who had just spotted an all you can eat buffet after being starved for a whole week. I spun around the corner and down the stairs, making myself dizzy as I ran down their twisting shape until I reached ground level, whereupon I was off running again, this time on a direct route to the entrance to the dormitory walkway, and then a sharp ninety degree angle and my room was in sight. Unfortunately, it wasn't until about .5 seconds before impact did I realize I had locked my door that morning.

"Oomph!" I cried as I ran into my door with a loud smack. Stunned I pulled my school ID out of my pocket and managed to swipe it across the door's ID Scanner. Moaning I literally fell through the door as it slid open, eliciting a growl from the rug that someone must have laid inside the room, directly in front of the door while I had been gone. _Who would give me a rug at a time like this, though?_ I thought as my face lay buried in the soft white fur of the rug. _Huh? Fur?_

"I don't think she quite likes that. She's not been known to attack for no reason before, however if you annoy her by keeping your face buried in her side like that, she might just find a reason."

"She?" I said, my voice muffled by the fur. Slowly I crawled to my feet, spitting out some of the fur that had got in my mouth. Blinking to refocus my eyes I looked down at what I had fallen on. "An Absol?" I murmured as the white furred Pokémon looked up at me. She looked sort of like a domestic house dog, however her claws were a good deal larger than a normal dog's claws with an additional claw erupting out of the back of each of her ankles; in addition, a curved, scythe like blade also protruded out of the right side of her head. As I watched she got to her feet, showing that she wasn't as large as a normal Absol, only a little over two and a half feet tall. Quietly she walked over to the second occupant of the room, whom I identified as I looked up from the Absol. "Ra, Rayne? How did you get in here? Is this your Absol?" I asked, now remembering the shape of the paw prints I has seen before.

"Hey, you're the one who's always going on about how you don't secure your computer, or shall I say, compu_ters_, because there is no such thing as security in this day and age where everything is controlled electronically." Rayne said as she sat on my bed, one leg crossed over the other. "In other words, I've long since figured out how to get these door locks open. Oh, and yes, she is mine. I've cared for her ever since she was an infant, about three years ago. She's actually still a child, hence why she's so small in comparison with other Absols, but you wouldn't be able to tell if you ever got in a fight with her."

"Wait, but how have you been able to bring a Pokémon into school without anyone noticing?" I asked as I stared at the Absol, she staring back at me.

"You're the technical geek, is it that hard to figure out?" Rayne said as she took a small object out of her pocket and tossed it to me. Fumbling I caught it, coming to realize that it was a Pokéball in its contracted form.

"So I wasn't seeing things the other day in the park... You had her with you then, didn't you?" I asked as I tossed the Pokéball back to Rayne.

"My, how perceptive of you. I was sloppy that day, but it doesn't really matter now. Not that it ever really has, the school board and I have made arrangements, and I've really only been hiding her from other students. Wouldn't want them to get too curious as to my true reason being here, now."

It was obvious that Rayne was enjoying confusing me, bit I remained calm. "Oh, just spill it all. Are you not really a student here or something?"

"Not anymore. The only reason I've been here these past two years have been to make up classes; I'm technically a senior. I've been ready to leave now for about a month but have been waiting for some incentive to. Now that you are leaving, I have some. In fact, I will be leaving with _you_." Rayne said as she stood up and walked over to me, shoving a finger in my chest.

"Wait, wha, what! Why with _me_!" I grimaced, taking a step back.

"It's quite simple. You don't want to travel _alone_ do you?" Rayne smirked.

"Well, yes. No! I mean, well, uh..." I stammered, trying to back away from Rayne, but just finding myself backed into a wall.

"See, you can't even _think_ for yourself; let alone get your way! You need me!" Rayne laughed as she backed down, returning to where her Absol lay.

"It's kind of hard to think when you're being confronted by a girl for no apparent reason!"

Rayne was about to speak again when her Absol growled. Rayne glanced at her and sighed, nodding. "Yes, I suppose you're right." She whispered to her Absol, before turning back to face me as she pointed her thumb at Absol. "It appears that the voice of reason here, Matariel, seems to think we should stop acting like this and get going already. I presume you were coming back here to pick up your stuff before leaving for the Pokémon Center, then you'll be out of here?"

"I suppose so." I shrugged as I composed myself and picked up what few things of mine were left in the room. _Did she just understand what her Absol said? But how..._ I thought, but decided to refrain from asking now to avoid a potential confrontation. "'Matariel' is that your Absol's name?"

"Yep," Rayne nodded, "It's the name of the Angel of Rain and means 'Premonition of God.' I thought it rather suitable. Say, what are you going to call Cyndaquil? You can't go on calling him 'Cyndaquil' forever."

"Zethro. Professor Jura told me that's what he named it, so it's only polite to leave it that way."

"Zethro, that's an odd name..." Rayne said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I can't immediately think of any language it might be from."

"Maybe it's meaningless, although Professor Jura did say it has some significance to him. Besides, it's not like 'Materiel' is any more normal." I said as I picked up the final piece of trash from the floor of my room. "There, the room seems to be clean now. Just one final thing, and I'll be done."

"You've got me there, I suppose. But at least 'Matariel' has a meaning. Unless 'Zethro' is from some ancient, long forgotten Angelic language I don't have any idea where it's from." Rayne said as I pulled a black belt from my backpack. Carefully I pried my cell phone and its holder off the belt I currently wore and unbuckled it, pulling it out of the loops in my blue jeans. I threaded the new belt through those same loop holes in its place and buckled it closed. Both belts looked exactly the same, however this new belt had small yet very powerful magnets inside it at equal distances behind small depressions on the outside surface, meant to hold a metallic Pokéball securely without the need for a clumsy clip. I clipped my cell phone back onto my new belt towards the back of my right side and pulled another plastic clip out of my backpack, this one bigger then the one my cell phone used. I clipped this one more to the front of my right side before taking the Pokédex Professor Jura had given me and sliding it into the clip. Fortunately, despite it being a couple years old, it still fit securely in the clip which had been designed mostly for newer models.

"Well, aren't you looking geeky now; needing to show off to the world." Rayne said as she pulled Matariel's Pokéball from her pocket again. "I suppose we should be going then. Matariel, I'm afraid I still can't let you be seen around here." She said as she applied pressure to the exterior surface of the Pokéball, the entire ball expanding as she relaxed her grip. "Return." A beam of red light shot out from the tip of the Pokéball as she pressed the button on it, turning Matariel into the same red light as the beam touched her. The light disappeared back into the Pokéball, and Materiel was gone with it. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Rayne asked as she again gently squeezed the surface of the Pokéball, causing it to shrink as she deposited it into her pocket again in one smooth action.

"Er, yeah; I'm ready, so let's go." I gulped; shouldering my backpack and giving my old room one final look over before following Rayne out the door and across the green that lead to the school's gates.

At the gates I paused, thinking how it was unlikely I would ever return here again. I knew that if I was to be successful at Pokémon training at all, I couldn't have my previous life weighing on me all the time. So, with my new life and destination focused squarely in my mind I stepped through the gate and set off down the side walk, never looking back. This was a turning point in my life; the end of one saga and the birth of a new one. I didn't know what I would face ahead; rather it be bad or good, painful or soothing, hard or easy; but I did know that my life would never be the same again.

**End of Chapter 3**

* * *

**End of Part 1: Turning Point**


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 2: Evil's CORE**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 4**

"Hey! Get back here!"

"Cynda!"

"Not again..."

"I'm your trainer and I _order_ you to get out of there right now!"

"Sol..."

It had been but two days since Rayne and I, along with our Pokémon, had left The Pokémon Academy to lead our new lives as Pokémon Trainers. However, I sure didn't feel like a Pokémon Trainer as I lay in the dirt, hand stuck into a hollowed out tree log, feeling around for Zethro, the Cyndaquil I had received from Professor Jura as my starter. Rayne sat a distance away on a tree stump, eating a sandwich and shaking her head as her Absol, Matariel, lay quietly on the ground besides her. We had decided to travel to Petalburg City after leaving Rustboro, and were currently taking a short training break within the Petalburg Woods alongside a small stream that twisted its way through the forest. The day was late and the sun beginning to set, the sound of birds and insects filling the air alongside the babbling of the stream, but all that I ignored as I struggled and felt blindly for Zethro who had decided to run off on me.

"Aha! Gotcha!" I shouted triumphantly as my hand came to rest on a patch of fur which I recognized to be Zethro's.

"Cynda—Quil!"

"Ow! Hot hot hot hot hot hot hot!" I screamed as fire erupted around my hand, smoke streaming out of the log as I pulled my burnt hand out, waving it around in the air before running over to the nearby stream and plunging it into the water.

"For a Pokémon Trainer, you don't seem to have very much control over your Pokémon." Rayne said to me as she stood up from her stump. She walked over to the log and bent down to the entrance, putting her ear to it. "He's tired and wants to sleep; maybe you should take a break from practicing for a while. If you want to continue moving towards Petalburg City you'll have to put him back in his Pokéball, otherwise we can set up camp here for the night."

"It _is_ getting dark." I said, looking up at the sky and the setting sun as I shook water off my hand. "I say we camp out here for the night, we should reach Petalburg City tomorrow regardless, rather we camp here or walk for an hour or two more." I walked up to the hollow log and stuck my head to the opening, peering into the darkness inside. "Hey, next time you want to rest, let me know, okay?"

"Cynda..." Zethro whined.

"Er, good point. How do trainers get around this Pokémon language barrier, anyway? How am I supposed to know what a Pokémon wants if I can't understand what they're saying..." I sighed as I walked over to my backpack which I had randomly dropped on the ground before this whole incident had happened.

"There are different ways. You can always pay attention to their actions, of course. If Zethro yawns, crawls into a dark, cool spot, and gets annoyed when you try to get him out, he is probably worn out. If he is picking up fallen berries and trying to eat them while his stomach is making strange sounds, he's hungry." Rayne said as she handed me a plastic wrapped sandwich and opened up a can of meat for Matariel.

"Hey, I thought he was just curious about those berries and I didn't want him to get hurt." I shrugged and took a bite out of my sandwich, frowning as Rayne shot me a "How can berries hurt you... Idiot." look. That wasn't what I was thinking about right now, though. Over the past two days there had been several instances in which it seemed like Rayne had actually understood what Matariel was saying, such as back in my dorm room when she claimed Matariel thought that we shouldn't argue; now she seemed to have understood Zethro as well. "What about _really_ understanding what they're saying. Is that even possible?"

"Some claim it is." Rayne whispered. I don't think she had meant for me to hear it, but I did and sharply glanced over at her.

"Such as yourself?"

Rayne sighed, looking up at the night and the emerging stars. "I suppose there's no use trying to keep it a secret, nor is it probably wise to do so. In a sense, yes, I can understand what Pokémon say. Or at least the meaning behind their speech."

"But how? You can't just go and take 'Pokémon Speech 101.'" I frowned.

"I don't know how either. I've been like this as far back as I can remember. Now, it's not that I can actually understand the words they speak; I am somehow able to 'feel' what they mean by their words. Some people may say it's kind of like telepathy, however it only works one way and I can only understand the thoughts behind a Pokémon's normal speech; I can't just peer into a Pokémon's mind and read their inner thoughts." Rayne said, the sandwich she had laid in her lap forgotten.

"Is it possible to somehow teach me to do it?" I asked, realizing how little about Rayne I truly knew. She never even said anything about her earlier years at The Pokémon Academy before I was enrolled, much less anything from her childhood.

"No. It's not something I do voluntarily or that I learned; it just happens and it's always been that way. We should probably get a fire started." Rayne said, throwing me off as she abruptly changed the subject. I knew she didn't want to talk about her unique ability, though, so I let her go.

"Yeah, I suppose so. This would be so much easier if Zethro could help with it, but with his injury..." I fumbled about in my backpack, feeling around for my flint and pocket knife. As the nurse at the Pokémon Center had said after Zethro received his injury, it appeared that he wasn't able to perform even a simple Ember attack at all. I had been trying to get him to do one, but every time he tried to do so all he managed was to cough up some black smoke. Fortunately, I had found that he wasn't completely stunted; he was still able to flare up his back with fire, so at least he could do a Flame Wheel attack. During our training sessions the past few days I had been heavily focusing on his Flame Wheel and felt that by now the two of use at least stood a chance in a Pokémon Battle. Because of our lack of experience I hadn't bothered with challenging Roxanne, the local Gym Leader back in Rustboro city, but now I felt ready to take on someone else, whenever we met anyone. The last time we had seen a person other then each other was back on the outskirts of Rustboro City, and those were the slums no less.

I set about gathering up sticks and arranging them in a circle of rocks as Rayne laid out here sleeping bag. Striking the piece of flint with the blade of my pocket knife I managed to set the sticks on fire, blowing on them gently to make the flame bigger. With the fire burning I turned my attention to preparing my own sleeping bag, watching out of the corner of my eye as Rayne lay down, her arms folded underneath her head.

"Hey, where's Matariel?" I asked, noticing that she had gone missing.

"Probably off hunting. She's been starting to do that lately, and it's a good a thing as it will help save us money. I don't think she likes the taste of canned meat." Rayne said quietly.

I nodded and lay down on my sleeping bag, on the other side of the fire from Rayne's, as I pulled my Pokédex out of its clip on my belt. I slid my finger over the panel on its side that served as a power switch and the Pokédex flipped open in three parts, one first folding away to the right side and then the top flipping open. When I had first received the Pokédex from Professor Jura it wouldn't let me do anything with it, however after receiving my Trainer ID card from the Pokémon Center and sliding it into a slot on the bottom of the device I was able to access all of its functions. I pressed the map symbol on the bottom screen and the top flashed, changing to a topographical map of the surrounding area. Using a zoom slider that had appeared on the bottom screen I zoomed out some, so that Petalburg City came into view on the map; five hours walking and it looked like we would make it. The Pokédex suddenly gave a beep and a light on its side lit up as the third screen on the flip out section flashed to display a letter shaped symbol with a "1" next to it. Bored, I pressed the message icon on the bottom screen to access the Pokédex's built in messaging system. The subject line of the new message read "Come visit Petalburg City! Our local Gym Leader, Norman, is always ready for challenges from both old trainers and new!" I didn't bother to read the whole message and deleted it. _Stupid automatic messaging systems, sending out spam ads to all Pokédexes in the area..._ I thought.

Closing the Pokédex and letting it fall out of my fingers to the ground I tried to fall asleep but found I couldn't. I stared up at the stars for a couple minutes, then glanced across the fire to where Rayne lay, finding that she had propped herself up on her backpack with one arm holding an open sketchbook against her chest while she drew in it with her other. She seemed to be ignoring me, as she had these past few days.

"What's the real reason you're coming with me? I don't think you could care less rather I'm alone or not." I asked.

Rayne stopped drawing. "_I_ don't want to be alone." She whispered.

I watched her for a while longer as she resumed drawing. "You really need to get better at whispering." I said, lying back down.

Just as I was drifting off to sleep Matariel returned. I glanced at her, noticing the redness around her jaws. Apparently her hunt had been successful.

* * *

"Tail! Tail! Taillow!" 

I woke up to the annoying sound of Taillows cawing to each other the next morning. Yawning I pushed up into a sitting position and wiped my eyes clear, trying to force myself to see properly. As I moved my legs I kicked something, and looking down found that it was Zethro lying alongside my sleeping bag; he must have moved out of his log sometime during the night. My kick managed to wake hip up and he looked up at me.

"Sorry, didn't know you were there." I grumbled, noticing my Pokédex on the ground where I had dropped it the previous night. The light on its side was blinking again.

I picked my Pokédex up and opened it, accessing my messages to find I had one more new one. This one's subject was "I see you are new at this..." This time I _was_ curious about it and opened the full message, reading through its contents.

_>To: PD18-380-023-489  
>From: PD20-190-378-012  
>  
>Dear Trainer, with the Cyndaquil:  
>  
>So, you have just started out on your journey, have you? Your Cyndaquil seems to be coming  
>along well, and the girl's Absol was surprisingly vicious during its hunt. I have just started out  
>as well and have been looking for a battle when I noticed you passing through the area. If you  
>want to, come to the GPS coordinates included and feel free to challenge me to a battle, or maybe  
>even a double battle; you and the girl against two of my Pokémon. No need to respond, I'll be  
>waiting if you want to take up my offer.  
>  
>P.S. Feel free to bet on the match, if you would like.  
>  
>Sincerely, The Ever Watchful Shadow, Zachary J. Reilyn_

Nervously I glanced around, wondering if this Zachary guy was watching us right now. I hadn't known that we were being watched last night, but that could have just been because of my tiredness. Rather he was watching us now or not I was unable to determine, so I shrugged the thought off, deciding that if we were being watched it wouldn't hurt if I didn't know so. The promise of my first trainer battle was enticing, however, and the coordinates displayed on the Pokédex's map weren't that far away.

"Well, we may just have our first trainer battle on our hands here; wonder if Rayne will want to fight with us. Regardless, we better get some extra practice in beforehand." I smiled, looking down at Zethro. My smile abruptly turned to a frown as both mine and Zethro's stomach growled in unison. "But first we should eat something..." I sighed, pulling a small apple out of my backpack and handing it to Zethro before opening a bag of trail mix for myself.

Thoughtfully chewing on the nuts and granola I ran through my head different battling strategies, trying to remember what I had learned at school. Studying battling and actually preparing for one were completely different, however, and actually having one was another thing all its own. I shook my head; I would just have to make it all up as I went along, it's not as if I could plan it all in advance anyways. After eating I stood up and scooped Zethro up in my arms, being careful not to wake Rayne as I walked a good distance off into the trees. Finding a decent sized clearing I nodded and set Zethro down. He looked up at me expectantly; ready to get on with our practice session.

"Okay, first let's do a little warm up. Try to hit this target with a Tackle." I said, carving a medium sized X a few fight off the ground in the bark of a tree with my pocket knife. Stepping back I watched as Zethro crouched, his rear end raised up in the air for a moment before suddenly darting forward, running over the leaf covered ground towards the tree. A few feet away from the tree he leaped into the air, colliding with the tree squarely on the X mark. Zethro rebounded off the tree and landed on all fours, giving a squeak of success.

"Good, your accuracy is getting better. Try hitting the same target with a Flame Wheel this time." I said, a small sense of pride welling up in me as I watched Zethro carry out my orders with glee. He returned back to where he had started the Tackle from before, turning around to face the same tree again before beginning a sprint towards it. As he ran fire flared up on his back, whipping around in the wind created from his running. A little farther back then he had with the Tackle Zethro jumped, this time giving himself a forward spin that sent him spiraling through the air at the tree, the fire making him look like a circle of fire with a blur of blue and red tinted, cream colored fur in the middle of it all. In that condition Zethro collided with the tree, flames sputtering for a second as he jumped away, landing on the ground again where the fire was abruptly extinguished. Zethro was panting slightly and I frowned slightly.

"Hmm, you still need to work on better controlling your fire; you're using too much energy with it currently. Let's try some less intensive things for a while more." I said, tapping my chin.

Zethro and I continued training that way for the rest of the early morning. By the time I decided to call it quits not a single tree in the clearing was left unscathed, most with just a shallow X mark in their bark at varying heights, but some had also been burned from when I had tried out Zethro's Flame Wheel again. I picked Zethro up in my arms, holding him to my chest as he panted, worn out from all the training. "Maybe I forced you a little too hard. Was that to much for you? If so just nod your head and I won't push you that hard again." I said to Zethro, but he surprised me by shaking his head instead. "Well, that's the spirit! You can never practice something to much, plus physical activity is good for you! Not that that means I _like_ it..." I added under my breath as I wheeled around and began to walk back towards the stream bank where our camp was set up. It was nearing ten now and I still had to tell Rayne about the battle challenge from that Zachary guy.

We hadn't walked more then a few yards away from our training clearing when I was stopped in my path by a sound coming from a nearby bush. At first it sounded like a low rumble, but as it got closer it changed into a growl. Taking a step backwards I braced myself, whispering to Zethro, "How are you holding up?" Zethro nodded silently and I took it to mean he was ready. Suddenly a Pokémon leapt out of the bushes and I took a double take at it, before laughing.

"Zig! Zig! Zigzagoon!" The raccoon like Zigzagoon growled at me as he stood in my way on the path. His spiky, brown and tan fur was bristled up, making him appear larger then he really was, and hiss body was quivering as he growled at me, his fangs bared.

"Darn, I was expecting something exciting. Still, if you can actually knock it out before it runs off this time we might have a chance of capturing it!" I said excitedly, remembering the few Pokémon battles Zethro and I had had over the previous two days. Most of them had involved Zethro and I chasing after the Pokémon as it ran away from us, but now it seemed something was finally willing to fight! _Alright! Let's do this!_ I smirked, thinking to myself. "Zethro! Go at it!" I yelled, loosening my grip on him as he leapt out of my arms, his tiredness forgotten. He and the wild, unusually angry Zigzagoon faced each other down and I could tell that Zethro was thinking just as I was at that moment. The Zigzagoon suddenly began running towards Zethro, and the battle had begun.

* * *

"Quick! Zethro, dodge its attacks!" I ordered off the bat. 

"Quil!" Zethro acknowledged me, jumping out of the way of the charging Zigzagoon and onto a nearby rock. The Zigzagoon halted its charge as Zethro moved out of his way, turning around to face Zethro. Growling he leapt up towards Zethro who managed to avoid the attack again.

"Keep on dodging like that. Use your speed and agility to back it up against something." I said, running through my heads methods of which to go at this and trying to sort it all out. Zethro squeaked back at me again and continued dodging the Zigzagoon's repeated assaults, jumping backwards and to the side as the Zigzagoon made quick darting movements forward at him. I noticed that Zethro seemed to be leading him towards a large rock and nodded. "Yes, that'll work! Just avoid being hit!"

Before long Zethro was crouching in front of the boulder, facing the Zigzagoon who was wiping the ground with his forepaws, almost like a Tauros about to trample its opponents. "When he charges at you leap over him, and turn to face him again." I commanded.

I had just finished giving Zethro the command when the Zigzagoon began to run towards Zethro, faster then he had been before. "Now!" I signaled, and Zethro leaped over the Zigzagoon as planned, spinning around as it landed and kicking up a wave of dirt as it turned to face the Zigzagoon.

However, the Zigzagoon didn't crash into the rock as planned. "Zig!" It screamed, shifting itself and using the rock to spring backwards and flip through the air, aiming to come straight down on Zethro with his right forepaw extended, the claws on the end of it glinting in the sunlight. It was all to fast for me or Zethro to do anything, and before I could utter a single word the Zigzagoon crashed down on Zethro as he cried out in pain.

"Cynda!" Zethro cried, falling to the ground as the Zigzagoon stood over it. The claws had raked across his side, three gashes oozing red blood visible. Zethro moaned and shook as he writhed on the ground, as I stood in shocked silence. The Zigzagoon smirked and growled, looking first at the injured Cyndaquil and then at me, triumph shining in his eyes.

"Ze... Zethro! Get up!" I yelled franticly. _What the hell is up with this Zigzagoon! He can't be _hunting_, could he? I thought Zigzagoons ate berries!_

The Zigzagoon backed away from Zethro a step, his muzzle curling into a snarl as he raised his claws over Zethro's exposed throat, the scar from before plainly visible on it. "No!" I yelled, abandoning all thoughts of the battle and beginning to run over to where Zethro lay and the Zigzagoon stood, Zethro's life about to be extinguished as soon as he brought his paw down. _Again! I did it _again_! Why is this happening to me! Why can't I do anything without endangering Zethro's life!_

"Shrike, stand back! Matariel, Razor Wind!"

"Sol!"

A crescent shaped burst of wind came flying out of the trees, heading straight towards the Zigzagoon.

"Zigzagoon!" He screeched, jumping out of the way of the wind crescent just in time. Doing so meant that he abandoned Zethro, however, and to my astonishment Zethro was back on his paws, shaking angrily and growling at the Zigzagoon. Blood still oozed out of the cuts on his side, matting his fur and dripping to the ground, but Zethro acted as if none of that had happened at all and I could tell he was ready to get his payback.

"Matariel, Slash!" Rayne ordered, running out of the trees alongside her Absol, Matariel. Matariel nodded and ran ahead of her, straight towards the Zigzagoon. Matariel's speed was amazing, she covered the distance between Rayne and the Zigzagoon in no time at all, and before I could even begin to think of ordering Zethro an attack she took a powerful swipe at the Zigzagoon, raking her claws through his side as he had done to Zethro. Yelping hr collapsed to the ground, three cuts similar to the ones on Zethro opened on his side.

"Now, Zethro! Let's end this with Flame Wheel!" I ordered with a sweep of my hand in front of me.

"Cyndaquil!" Zethro screamed as he barreled towards the Zigzagoon as fast as he could, flames flaring up on his back stronger then they ever had been before during training. Taking a running leap Zethro flew into a spiral of flame, spinning through the air before impacting with the wild Zigzagoon.

"Zigzagoon!" He screamed as the impact sent him flying and he slammed into a tree, falling limply to the ground. Zethro came to a stop, facing the Zigzagoon and panting hard. Sweat streaked his fur, and for a couple seconds I was too distracted by Zethro to notice the Zigzagoon.

"Shrike, now's your chance; you might want to hurry before it runs away." Rayne said, reclining against a tree, an eye on the limp and heavily breathing Zigzagoon.

"Oh, yeah." I said, pulling an empty Pokéball out of one of one of my jean pockets, holding it between my index and middle fingers. Squeezing it to expand it to its full size I grabbed it with my whole hand, pulling my arm back and throwing the ball at the Zigzagoon. The Pokéball hit the Zigzagoon and opened up, turning the beaten Zigzagoon into red light and drawing it inside, before closing and dropping to the ground. The ball shook a couple times before falling still, and just like that I had caught my first Pokémon.

Letting out a breath which I had been holding in since the battle started I walked over to where Zethro lay, gently and silently picking him up. On closer inspection his injuries weren't that bad, paper cuts next to what Zelos had done to him, and already the blood flow had slowed down to a trickle. What worried me was how exhausted he was; he was panting fast and sweat soaked his entire body. "I'm sorry..." I whispered to him. "I shouldn't have pushed you so hard earlier, nor should I have been caught off guard during that battle."

"Cynda..." Zethro sighed, nudging me with his snout.

"So long for that battle with Zachary, I can't force you to fight anymore today..." I muttered as I carried Zethro over to where Zigzagoon's Pokéball lay in the leaves. Kneeling, I set Zethro down in the leaves and picked up the Pokéball, nervous as to what to expect from Zigzagoon. Gulping I pressed the button on the Pokéball, the ball springing open and Zigzagoon materializing in front of me.

"Goon..." He said quietly as he looked up at me and tried to stand up, but failed and collapsed to the ground. Relieved, I noticed that there wasn't any sign of anger or madness in his eyes anymore. His body still showed all the signs of the battle, including the gashes Matariel had given him, but he seemed to have calmed down. I had also been worried that he might have broken a few bones from being thrown so hard against the tree, but he only appeared to be weak from all the damage he had taken.

"Jehiel." I said. "Jehiel will be your name from now on; The Angel of Wild Beasts. Know that since I'm your master now I will do my best to take care of you, despite what you tried to do to Zethro just now; I can't fault you for your natural tendencies." Stroking Jehiel's fur around where he had been injured I shook my head. "Is it always this way? What they show on TV is nothing like this."

"It depends. Some Pokémon will go crazy on you like that, others will be more calm and perhaps even noble in their battles. You were unlucky to have gotten into your first serious battle with a crazed opponent thirsty for blood. Not all Pokémon are like Jehiel, keep in mind that every single Pokémon has their own, different, personality." Rayne said as she tossed me two small squirt bottles labeled "Pokémon Healing Potion. Usage-1."

"Thanks." I said, catching the Potions. I was hesitant in using them as we hadn't been able to afford many, my father was being quite stingy in sending money to my bank account lately, but knew that this was just the situation they were intended to be used for and that it was no use to even have bought them if I was always going to save them for the future. Gently I first sprayed the contents of one of the bottles over Jehiel, focusing mostly on his cuts, before treating Zethro with the other. Both of my Pokémon's injuries immediately stopped bleeding once I sprayed the Potions on them, the chemicals accelerating the clotting of their blood and soothing their nerves. The Potions also lowered the adrenaline flow throughout their bodies, and the two of them quickly drifted off to sleep.

Normally I would leave them out of their Pokéballs to rest so that I could watch over them; or at least I would with Zethro, I couldn't be sure I trusted Jehiel yet; however I knew they would probably sleep better if they were undisturbed. Picking up Jehiel's Pokéball in my right hand and pulling Zethro's off the left side of my belt with my other hand I held them both out, first expanding Zethro's before thumbing the button on each of them, drawing the two sleeping Pokémon inside. Standing up I placed both Pokéballs on the left side of my belt, the magnets inside the leather holding them firmly. Swaying I stood up, supporting myself against a tree with my left arm. I had hardly done anything and I was feeling exhausted as well.

"We can stay here one more night. There's no use in moving out if more then half of our team needs to recover." Rayne said, turning away from the battle site and walking back towards camp, Matariel following. Panting I silently followed her, brushing my fingers over the two Pokéballs hanging from my hip.

* * *

Back at our campsite I collapsed onto my sleeping bag. It wasn't even midday yet and already I felt like I could go back to sleep. Who knew that catching a single Zigzagoon could be so much of a challenge... 

"Why did you go out like that and put Zethro through what you did? You know very well that he is still recovering from the attack by Zelos, yet you recklessly go out training, then get in an actual battle where you were easily overpowered. You should have returned Zethro to his Pokéball when the Zigzagoon appeared; most likely it wouldn't have bothered attacking a target so much bigger then itself." Rayne scolded me as she looked over the camp site, as if inspecting it for something.

"Because I hate giving up and didn't realize just how strong and fierce Jehiel is at first. Then when I did, it was too late to do anything about it." I shrugged. "Besides, Zethro said he could fight and I was taking his word. He was doing fine anyways until Jehiel took us by surprise." I shrugged, disturbed by the whole thing though trying not to show it.

"You need to be prepared for turnabouts such as that, though. You can never expect for a battle to go your way for the whole time; you must be prepared for the enemy to pull a fast one on you at all times. If the fight hadn't woken me up..." Rayne shook her head and sighed, pacing.

For a few more minutes the camp site was silent except for the occasional chirp of a Taillow or a rustle in the bushes. I closed my eyes, just wanting to sleep for the rest of the day.

"So, it appears you will not be able to take up my offer after all?"

Quickly I darted up, spinning around to face the voice. Sitting on a branch of one of the tree bordering the stream bank a boy sat. He appeared older then me, I would say around sixteen, and had long, straight blond hair which hung around his shoulders. He looked straight at me with blue eyes and a friendly, non threatening smile. He swung his legs back and forth as he sat, before suddenly grabbing the branch with his arms and pushing himself off, dropping to the ground.

"Who are you? Why have you been watching us?" Rayne asked. I already knew, but remained silent.

The boy smiled, yet had a somewhat eerie quality about him. "I'm just a new Pokémon Trainer, that is all. As for my name, it is Zachary J. Reilyn."

**End of Chapter 4**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"...As for my name, it is Zachary J. Reilyn." The boy grinned at me and I stepped back nervously. Was it possible to be a little _to_ friendly?

"Er, Shrike Flamestar. Yeah, sorry about the battle thing, but both Zethro and Jehiel need their rest." I gulped, trying to avert Zachary's attention from me, however no matter where I moved to he kept his eyes locked firmly on me like a hawk.

Zachary slowly nodded. "Why, of course; you can't force them to battle any more when they are worn out. That would just be inhumane, after all. Now, what would your name be?" Zachary said, turning his attention off me and to Rayne, at last. However I couldn't help but have the feeling that I was still being watched out of the corner of his eyes.

"Rayne Jarxis." Rayne said, her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed. "Now that names have been passed around, will you mind telling us who you _really_ are? You're as much of a new trainer as I am a Pokémon."

Zachary laughed at that, tossing his head back as he brushed his long blond hair out of his eyes. When he finally stopped he looked back down at us, still smiling in his eerily friendly manner. "There is no hiding it from you, I see. Technically, I am indeed not a new trainer, and haven't been one for several years. However only this previous week have I actually begun to take my title seriously and actually try out battling. Thus, in that sense, I am still inexperienced and new, despite my procrastination."

I still don't think Rayne was satisfied, but she remained quiet all the same. This suited Zachary as well and he turned to face me, taking a lunging grab at my wrist. "Come, Shrike! Let us go talk together for a brief moment." He said, gently pulling me towards the trees by my wrist.

"Uh, Zachary—" I began, but he cut me off first.

"Please, just call me Zack. We're friends after all, right?" He smiled at me, yet tugged at my wrist harder as I was falling behind.

"But we only just met..."

"Then let's learn more of each other. Not far now."

I gave in and followed Zack through the trees to an outcrop of rock with a small cave set into it. Inside the cave two camping chairs sat alongside a sleeping bag and a bulging backpack. In the very back of the cave a tarp covered a small pile that I couldn't identify next to a small camping stove. With my free hand I pulled my Pokédex from my belt and activated it, checking the coordinates of my present location on the small auxiliary screen. Sure enough, they matched those Zack had sent me in his message.

"Well, this is pretty much my home for now. It's not much, but please, sit down." Zack said, letting go of my wrist and sweeping his arms in front of him to encompass the cave.

"You live in a cave?" I asked as I put my Pokédex back in its clip and sat down on one of the camping chairs, facing out of the cave. Zack took the other chair and moved it next to mine, angled so that he could see both me and the cave's entrance easily. He reclined in it and folded his arms behind his head, moving his hair out of the way.

"Yeah, it's actually pretty nice. I'm going to have to move out soon if I intend to find more trainers to fight though as not many pass through this way these days. You two are the first people to pass by in over a week." Zack idly said, his eyes closed and his ever present smile plastered on his face. "Of course, considering the rumors about Petalburg, that's hardly surprising."

"Rumors? What kind? Is it anything we should be concerned about?"

"Nothing has happened yet, however the presence of CORE personnel has been increasing in the area around Petalburg. With the other rumor regarding CORE that is spreading around, people think that something big may go down in Petalburg soon."

"CORE... Collective for Organic Research and Engineering... They're just a biomedical research firm though, aren't they? Why would anybody be worried about them?"

"Recently, there have been multiple cases throughout the entire Hoenn continent that imply that CORE may be using less then ethical methods to obtain test subjects and actually perform testing. All over Hoenn the accounts of stolen Pokémon have taken a sharp increase, and several witnesses claim that the perpetrators match the descriptions of known CORE personnel. With increased CORE concentration in the Petalburg area, rumors are spreading that CORE may be planning their first large scale, public operation." Zack opened his eyes and looked over at me. "But enough about rumors, we hardly know anything about each other. How long have you been a trainer? Where do you come from? Are Zethro and Jehiel your only Pokémon? How are your battle records?"

I didn't see any point in hiding the truth from Zack, and so went ahead and told him that I had only been a trainer for a couple of days, retelling the tale of me protecting Zethro and leaving the Pokémon Academy in Rustboro City. By the time I had finished midday had passed, but I went on to tell that Zethro and Jehiel were indeed my only Pokémon and that my record was currently blank.

"Well, that only means you've got a one-hundred percent success rate!" Zack exclaimed as I told him of my failure to find any other trainers to battle, blushing in my embarrassment.

"It also means I have a one-hundred percent failure rate..." I sighed.

"Oh, don't think of it that way! I've only had a handful of battles myself and I'm not ashamed to admit that I've had my own fair share of losses. Losing a battle isn't bad, if anything it will only push you to improve. If you must think so negatively, use the thought of a one-hundred percent failure rate to improve your training."

I remained silent so Zack decided to change the subject off of me, "Well, it's no fair if you tell me about yourself but you know nothing of me, now is it? I was born in Littleroot town, and became a trainer fairly uneventfully at the age of eleven with a Treecko as my starter. I began my travels excited at my future and had a good start as I caught several other Pokémon, however I never was comfortable with battling. I decided that I might as well not do something I disliked and chose to live with the Pokémon I already had in leisure, moving around between locations such as this one all over Hoenn. As of late my interest in battling has risen, so I am trying my hand at it again."

Nodding I accepted the story; nothing seemed off about it. However I couldn't shake the feeling of eeriness that I got from Zack, as if something about him wasn't right and didn't add up. Nevertheless, it was pointless to accuse without evidence and so I remained silent on my concerns.

"Well, our histories are now known to each other! Wonderful! I don't presume you have had lunch yet, have you?" Zack clapped his hands together, shaking me from my thoughts.

"No, not yet." I answered, a rumble from my stomach chiming in as if to confirm this.

"Well, of course you haven't, I don't know why I bothered to ask. You had just got back from training and your capture of Jehiel when we met. Come; let me prepare some food for us. Rayne will not be worried if you are missing longer then expected, will she?"

"I doubt so, she probably expects it anyways." I shook my head.

"Wonderful! This will only be a moment." Zack said, getting out of his chair and pulling some packages out of his backpack. "You don't mind instant ramen, do you? I find that instant is nowhere near as good as the real stuff is. Hmm, plus I'm afraid the only flavor I have is beef. I will need to head into the city soon to resupply..."

"That's fine, after store bought sandwiches and trail mix for the past two days, ramen will actually be refreshing."

I glanced behind me and watched as Zack poured some water from a jug into two metal cups, placing them on the camping stove and opening up a gas valve on a tank next to it. We sat in silence for a few minutes as the water boiled, before Zack poured the ramen into the cups.

"What about Zethro and Jehiel, surely they will be hungry as well?" Zack asked as he watched over the ramen, stirring the noodles occasionally.

"Well, they might still be sleeping now; I think I should leave them alone for a little while longer; I can feed them back at our camp. What about your Pokémon?"

"You make a good point." Zack said, smiling harder and nodding. "They need to eat as well, of course." Zack pulled three Pokéballs from his backpack and tossed them out the entrance to the cave. His three Pokémon appeared out of them as the Pokéballs flew back to Zack, him deftly catching them and placing them next to his backpack. Impressed I looked over his three Pokémon; a Grovyle, Swellow and Mightyena. The green, prehistoric looking lizard with a red chest looked around acutely, examining me intensively. Next to it the large bird, its feathers mostly blue with some red and white, took flight and flew up to and perched on a short rod of wood that stuck out of a hole in the rock over the cave opening. Lastly, the large shaggy black and gray dog walked up to me, growling as if to challenge me for being there. Nervously my hands went to the Pokéballs on my belt, as I dared a glance behind me at Zack. He gave a small nod to the Mightyena which seemed to satisfy it, it backing away from me and dropping to the ground, its legs sprawled out.

"Don't worry about him; he was just worried that you might be here to bring harm to me. Of course, friends would never do that to each other." Zack said, stirring some seasoning into the ramen before pouring it into two styrofoam cups. He walked over to me and handed me one of the ramen filled cups along with a metal fork before setting his cup and fork next to his chair. Thanking Zack I began to thoughtfully eat my ramen as I watched him place dishes of food on the ground for his Pokémon before sitting down himself and eating. We ate in silence, looking out the cave at the forest. I couldn't help shake the feeling that all of Zack's Pokémon were watching me, though.

"Well, I suppose I should be going now." I said, having finished eating my ramen and drinking the remaining broth out of the cup.

"You sure you don't want to stay a little while longer?" Zack asked, suddenly stopping his eating of his ramen.

"I'm sure, I don't Rayne to think you kidnapped me or anything." I answered, forcing a small laugh.

"Oh! But I was hoping that you could stay here for the remainder of the day! There is so much that could be talked about, and maybe your Pokémon will be ready for a battle later! In fact, I was thinking of inviting you to spend the night here with me; imagine, we could camp out together and share scary stories next to a fire! Wouldn't that be fun?" Zack exclaimed as I stood up, he dropping his ramen in haste as he scrambled to his feet as well, his smile beginning to falter for the first time that I had seen.

"Er, well, uh... Sure, yeah, it would be; I'm afraid I just _can't_ stay though. I, um, have homework to do! Yeah, I still haven't finished all the work that I have to send back to school by, um, tomorrow! So, you see, I have to go back and work on it; don't want me to fail now." I stammered, walking backwards only to run into the cave wall as Zack advanced on me, a full blown frown on his face now.

"Is that so? You have homework you must do?" Zack said, slamming his hands onto the wall on either side of me, trapping me. Looking out of the corner of my eye I noticed that his Pokémon had stopped eating and had their full attention on me, and that the Mightyena was even growling, its fangs bared. I actually thought for a moment that the Pokémon would attack me, but before they could Zack smiled again and stood back. "Very well. I suppose it would not be proper to force you to stay against your will. I am confident that we will meet again one day anyways, of that I am sure."

"You weren't, actually planning on..." I trailed off dazed by Zack's sudden change. In an instant he had gone from kind and boyish to outright angry, an emotion I hadn't thought possible in him previously.

"Oh, of course not; friends would never do that to each other." Zack smiled, but it seemed strained now and his eerie aura was stronger then ever. His Mightyena still hadn't calmed down and continued to look at me as if I was pure evil incarnate, making me more then a little nervous and causing my left hand to stray to Zethro's and Jehiel's Pokéballs. "And, as a friend, I can not let you go without a parting gift." Zack continued, reaching under the tarp covered pile without uncovering it, so that I still couldn't see what it was. When he pulled his hand back out from underneath the tarp his fist was tightly closed around something.

"I heard you questioning Rayne about how to understand Pokémon speech the previous night. I think this might interest you..." Zack took my right hand and opened it, placing his closed hand in mine and letting whatever he was holding fall into my hand. When he pulled his hand away I stared at the object I now held.

"What is it?" I asked; the device was extremely odd, nothing like anything I had ever seen before. It's shape was all twisted as if it had been molded from a piece of clay a child had been playing with, and when I gave it a slight squeeze I noticed that it seemed to be somewhat malleable. Additionally, at two different spots on it, small holes perforated the flesh colored exterior of the mysterious device.

"It doesn't have a finalized name yet, though some have seen fit to call it a Pokécom after its primary purpose; to ease communication between humans and Pokémon. It is, in fact, a pre-final release version of a universal Pokémon speech translator that an as if yet unspecified company has been developing. I managed to get my hands on a few and think that it would be rather suitable for yourself, such the good friend of mine that you are, to have one. Here, you just push this end into your ear, and it'll conform to the shape of your ear canal after awhile. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt and you'll get used to the feeling of it being in there." Zack said, taking the Pokécom and pushing one of the ends into my left ear. I was embarrassed, but knew that Zack surely knew how to fit it in my ear better then I so let him continue.

"There. Now, Mightyena, please apologize to Shrike for your acting so rudely earlier." Zack said, giving the Pokécom one final push. It felt like someone had stuck a piece of putty into my ear, and I wasn't so sure that wasn't what had just happened, yet I was still able to hear just as well as before.

"Humph, if I must. The human my master calls 'Shrike,' I 'apologize' for my acting 'rudely' to you earlier."

My eyes widened as I stared at the Mightyena, my hand to my left ear. "Did, that Mightyena, just _talk_ to me?" I asked incredulously.

"I have been talking to you this whole time. I've been saying 'Get away from my master, you filthy, mangy human.'" The Mightyena growled again, me again understanding it.

"Please, Mightyena, can you at least try to act a little nicer to our guests, especially such a good friend as Shrike?" Zack sighed. "I personally apologize on behalf of Mightyena for his manners. He has not yet been, taught, proper etiquette; he is my newest acquisition."

"This isn't a trick? How can I be sure this isn't just playing back prerecorded messages?" I asked carefully, hoping that my doubts were false.

"If you listen to a Pokémon I couldn't have expected you to have, that would prove it." Zack shrugged, nodding to the second Pokéball on my belt.

"Jehiel... I only caught him this morning right before we met, so you wouldn't have had time to prepare a recording..." I quietly said as I removed Jehiel's Pokéball from my belt.

"Exactly. Why don't you talk to him right now and realize that your doubts are wrongly placed."

"He was less tired then Zethro, so he should be awake by now..." I said, expanding Jehiel's Pokéball and pressing the activator button. The ball sprung open and a burst of red light came out of it, materializing into the form of a Zigzagoon, Jehiel, before me. He was sleeping at first but immediately he opened his eyes and looked around him, hopping to his feet quickly and taking us all in.

"Who are you! Don't you _dare_ come near my master or I will tear your throat out!" Jehiel suddenly burst out, facing Zack, his fur bristling just as it had when we met. At the same time I happily noticed that his wounds were all but gone. "And who are you looking at, you mangy mutt! And that green, _thing_, behind you! Oh, and that fat chicken! I'll take you all on if you so much as take one step closer to master!"

"Well. That was certainly unexpected from a Zigzagoon." Zack said, every bit as surprised as I was.

"Er, Jehiel. This human is Zack, he's our friend, not an enemy. That Mightyena, Grovyle, and Swellow," I pointed out each person and Pokémon in turn, "are Zack's Pokémon, and as such also not enemies. Oh, and please don't call me 'master,' my name is Shrike."

Jehiel turned to look at me. "Very well, master Shrike. If you do not want these questionable enemies mangled, torn, and horrible beaten to death I will leave them be. But if I see so much as one claw, talon, or whatever weapons you humans use to fight laid on you I will protect you with my life." Jehiel said, giving a slight nod at me.

"Well, you trust me that the Pokécom is in fact a working translator now?" Zack asked, patting my shoulder with his right hand.

"AN ATTACK!"

Jehiel suddenly jumped off the ground at Zack, tiny fangs bared. Before Zack could defend against him Jehiel was on him, biting his leg and swiping at it with his claws.

"The master is being attacked by that fur ball, who had the nerve to call me a 'mangy mutt'!" Mightyena suddenly growled, barreling forward at not Jehiel, but me. "If we take out _its_ master it will lose the will to fight!"

"Jehiel! That was not an attack! Get off of him!" I suddenly yelled, grabbing Zethro's Pokéball and preparing to release him despite his condition. _Sorry Zethro, but there's no way I can take on a Mightyena by myself..._

"Mightyena! Desist NOW or I will FORCE the procedure on you against your will!" Zack angrily shouted, kicking the leg Jehiel had clamped himself to and sending the securely anchored Zigzagoon flying around through the air but failing in shaking him off.

At the same time both Jehiel and Mightyena halted their attacks; Jehiel letting go of Zack's leg and running over to between mine and Mightyena stopping its charge, although it now looked at me with even more disgust then before.

"Are you alright?" I worriedly asked Zack, thankfully placing Zethro's Pokéball back on my belt and bending down to look at Zack's leg, blood trickling down it in rivulets from the wound Jehiel had caused. Fortunately Jehiel's bite wasn't very strong and the wound looked as if it would heal on its own.

"Oh, I am fine. A little bleeding won't kill a man." Zack said, frowning at Jehiel. "That Zigzagoon is quite the oddball."

"I live only to serve my master, currently Shrike. Shrike, I ask that you please inform me; if that was not was not a human attack, what is?" Jehiel asked, calm again.

"Well, er, humans don't commonly fight each other, and when we do it is uncommon that we would fight unarmed. Humans generally need a gun or sharp edged blade of some kind to fight. I don't think you'll have to worry about protecting me from those, though." I shook my head.

"'Gun'? 'Sharp edged blade of some kind'? What are those? I need to know what I must watch out for!"

"I can't show you." I sighed. "If I need you to protect me, I will tell you. Otherwise just treat everyone as you would me."

"But I can't; I serve the master and the master only."

"Then just don't try to kill everyone unless I tell you to... No, wait; don't _ever_ try to kill _any_one. If I need protection, just try to knock them out; that will be enough." I sighed even harder.

"If that is what you wish, however I must question your decision to forbid me from killing; it is the most efficient method to take a target out, is it not?"

"This will take a long time to explain..." I moaned. "I'll explain later. For now, you've caused enough trouble, go ahead and rest again." I said, my head lowered with my chin touching my chest as I held out Jehiel's Pokéball and recalled him back into it.

"But mast—" Jehiel was cut off before he could finish talking and disappeared back into his Pokéball, which I replaced on my belt.

"I hope not all of my Pokémon are going to be like that..." I sighed.

"It is unlikely, but loyalty isn't a bad thing at all. You will just have to teach Jehiel what he can and can not do." Zack nodded, as if he didn't notice that his leg was still bleeding.

"Do you need something to put on that? I can bring back something from our camp if you need it." I asked, concerned.

"No, no. You need to be leaving now, right? Your homework and all." Zack said, clearly disturbed about something. Noticing that I noticed his disturbance he quickly snapped out of it and grinned at me as he had when we first met. "I surely do not want to be the cause of your failure at school, after all."

"I suppose. Thank you for the Pokécom, it will surely make training easier if I can actually understand what my Pokémon are trying to say to me." I held out my hand to shake hands with Zack but instead he spread his arms wide and took me into his embrace. Blushing I struggled, trying to push my way out of Zack's embrace. Finally I managed to get his arms off me and stood back, breathing hard. _If Jehiel was out, that surely would have counted as an attack..._

"Oh, don't act embarrassed, we are great friends, after all. No, don't think of it that way!" Zack exclaimed as he saw the look of disgust on my face.

"It's kind of hard to think any other..."

"Oh, if I did something you do not like, I apologize, but I do not see how showing care for a friend is wrong."

"You must have grown up without any girls around, didn't you? Regardless, I really have to be leaving now."

"See you later then, we _will_ meet again!" Zack yelled after me as I stiffly walked out of the cave, past the malicious Mightyena and into the forest, setting out along the path I remembered walking to the cave by.

* * *

"I don't trust him. There's something about him that's just plain off." Rayne said as I told her what had happened at Zack's cave. I had made it back to our camp fine and the first thing Rayne did when I came walking out of the trees was drag me over to the fire pit and ask me why I had been gone so long. 

"Still, he was nice. He even gave me this translator." I said as I fingered my ear. I was already starting to get used to the feel of the Pokécom stuck in my ear, but the thought wasn't any less awkward.

"It was probably to make up with you for when he got angry about you wanting to leave. Are you sure it works properly and isn't some kind of trick? I've heard rumors that some companies were wanting to make something like it, but I had no idea someone already had."

"It was all to perfect. There was no way Zack could have predicted the whole incident with Jehiel. I don't think we have to worry about the Pokécom as long as it continues working properly."

"Shrike is right. There is no reason to get worked up over such a petty matter. I trust that you can understand me?"

I turned around and saw Matariel walking towards us, who I knew to be the source of the previous voice. "Yeah, I suppose I can. For now let's just set the Pokécom matter aside. I do in fact have homework that I need to work on, although it isn't due until this Friday."

"Your human matters are of no concern to me, do as you wish. Rayne, I am going off to find food for myself." Matariel said, her voice surprisingly calm and soothing for a dark type Pokémon. Rayne nodded her approval and Matariel ran off into the trees. Free from the constraints of anyone at last I wandered over to my sleeping bag and sat down on it, pulling my tablet PC out of my backpack. Flipping open the book-like cover the computer automatically turned itself on. After the operating system had loaded up I taped on the screen to open up the file of schoolwork I had downloaded off a file server the school had set up to use as a means of me receiving and sending in assignments. _Imagine, just a decade or two ago and this kind of long distance internet connection wouldn't have been possible..._

I got to work on my schoolwork and continued working on it for two more hours. By the time I had got so bored of it all that I was no longer able to continue I had managed to get through the Math, Science, and English sections. Figuring that I'd finish the rest later I saved what I had done and closed the file, mindlessly tapping a blank area of the screen for a few minutes. By sheer accident my stylus accidentally hit the icon for my internet chat client, loading the program and automatically signing me onto the room me and my friends hung out on.

_>FireBird has joined the chat  
>chaos: wow, look whos showed his face again...  
>LordDark: Welcome back, FB :)  
>LordDark: Where've you been?  
>FireBird: Somewhere in the middle of Petalburg Woods for the past couple of days :)  
>FireBird: Before that I was just to busy preparing.  
>chaos: hey, so your a trainer now huh?  
>FireBird: Yeah, I suppose you can call me that.  
>FireBird plucks a blade of grass from the ground and cleans his fingers nonchalantly.  
>LordDark: Congratulations, it's odd to think that one of us is already a trainer.  
>chaos: i wanted to be the first :(  
>chaos: if we ever meet, remind me to kick your ass for beating me  
>FireBird: Just before Zethro and Jehiel slaughter whatever wimps you'll be training, sure.  
>LordDark: Your Pokémon?  
>chaos: let me guess, a magikarp and feebas?  
>FireBird: Cyndaquil and Zigzagoon. Try to guess where the Cyndaquil is from...  
>LordDark: So you got to keep it after all?  
>chaos: i thought it died...  
>LordDark kicks chaos in the nuts.  
>LordDark: Well, what about Rayne? You glad she's gone?  
>FireBird: Actually, I wouldn't say that...  
>chaos: OO  
>LordDark: Oh God...  
>chaos: YOU GOT LAID!  
>FireBird falls down and twitches.  
>FireBird: Where did that come from... She's just following me, that's all.  
>chaos: but you don't know what happens while you sleep...  
>chaos: maybe she gets a little action in while your not quite aware...  
>LordDark: Sometimes I worry about you, chaos --  
>FireBird: Moving off that subject... How long until each of you gets your license?  
>LordDark: A couple months, we'll have to meet up and chat sometime IRL.  
>chaos: year or two  
>chaos: those bastard teachers keep on holding me back :(  
>FireBird: Ah, but you're still in elementary school.  
>FireBird: If you really want to be a successful trainer like me and LD will be,  
>FireBird: you still have Pokémon school to go through.  
>chaos: screw that, i dont need to be taught how to battle  
>chaos: its easy, just send out a pokemon and order it around like a slave.  
>LordDark: I weep for the even younger generation.  
>chaos: its not like pokemon have feelings, you cant even understand them  
>FireBird: Whoever said you can't?  
>LordDark: FB, that's kind of obvious that you can't understand a Pokémon's speech --  
>FireBird: But I swear that earlier Rayne's Absol asked me if I could understand her...  
>FireBird: And I said yes.  
>chaos: now whos the crazy one?  
>LordDark: Stop pulling our legs; it's obvious you're lying.  
>FireBird: What if I said that a new friend of mine gave me a Pokémon translator?  
>FireBird: Would you believe me then?  
>LordDark: No such thing exists --  
>FireBird: If that's what you want to believe...  
>chaos: what would it translate anyways? its not like pokemon actually talk...  
>chaos: theyre animals, they have no soul  
>LordDark: Even without this imaginary translator, I have to disagree with that.  
>TO LordDark FROM FireBird: Remind me, how did we meet this guy?  
>FROM LordDark TO FireBird: It's been to long, I forget.  
>chaos: hello? whered you all go?  
>TO LordDark FROM FireBird: Sometimes I wonder if he's worth keeping around...  
>chaos: guys?  
>FROM LordDark TO FireBird: What are we supposed to do? Ban him because he's rude?  
>chaos:(  
>TO LordDark FROM FireBird: Yeah.  
>chaos: w/e, im out of here...  
>chaos has left the chat  
>FROM LordDark TO FireBird: Heh, you're not perfect yourself.  
>TO LordDark FROM FireBird: Never said I was :)  
>TO LordDark FROM FireBird: Hey, I've got to be going now.  
>TO LordDark FROM FireBird: I need to check to see how Zethro's doing.  
>FROM LordDark TO FireBird: Well, see ya later then.  
>FireBird has left the chat_

Pondering on the situation with chaos, I snapped the tablet PC shut with a snap and dropped it into my backpack. It was nearing evening by now, so Zethro should have had enough time to recover and I figured that they both him and Jehiel were probably hungry, plus it would be nice to talk with Zethro. _Heh, talking to Pokémon, maybe chaos was right for once... Maybe I am going crazy..._

Before I could open the two Pokéballs I noticed that Rayne was drawing again, something which she seemed to do a lot when we weren't actually doing anything else. Shrugging I pushed the buttons on the Pokéballs and they popped open, releasing Zethro and Jehiel on the grass in front of me.

"Master! I am at your beck and call! I see there are two more enemies around; shall I eliminate them for you?" Jehiel excitedly asked as he looked around and noticed Zethro right next to us and Rayne across the fire. "Wait, these enemies are... This is the one you used to defeat me in battle and thus earn my trust of you, and that is the human who assisted you when I was on the verge of victory..."

"I'm hungry... What's this thing next to me babbling on about... Where's my food... Why do I bother trying to talk to Shrike when he never responds..." Zethro mumbled, stumbling about like one tends to just after they've woken up. I noticed that the claw marks on his side were almost completely gone; just three faint scars that should be gone soon, unlike the one on his neck, were all that showed he had been injured on his side.

"Jehiel; Zethro here, a Cyndaquil, is your partner so you better get along together; Rayne over there is my friend and also a partner of ours." I explained to the confused Zigzagoon.

"Ignore that last part about me being Shrike's partner. We're just traveling companions and nothing more." Rayne interjected, never taking her eyes off her sketchbook.

"Regardless, I only listen to my master's orders. If he says you and this Zethro are a partner, I will do my best to serve you both, although I take orders only from the master, Shrike." Jehiel firmly said, walking closer to me and laying down by my side, resting his head on his forepaws, his eyes alert.

"Rayne, you're listening to me, right? Will you tell Shrike I'm hungry..." Zethro moaned, collapsing to the ground as his stomach growled.

"No need for that anymore, I can understand you know." I smiled. His ears perking up Zethro looked at me and jumped to his feet, running over to me and leaping into my lap.

"You can? So you couldn't even understand me before? Well, that explains why you've never directly answered me..." Zethro squeaked happily, rubbing against my chest.

"Yeah, don't worry, I won't ignore you ever again. Here, let me get you and Jehiel; he's that Zigzagoon we battled against, in case you don't remember; something to eat." I said, rummaging through my backpack until my hand closed on two not-quite circular objects; two of my dwindling supply of apples I had picked up for Zethro since he seemed to like them so much. I gave one of them to Zethro who set about happily eating it, and placed the other in front of Jehiel for him to eat.

"What is this? Is this a fruit? I absolutely abhor fruit." Jehiel snorted as he swatted the apple away with a paw.

"I thought Zigzagoon's only ate fruit, though?" I frowned as I picked the apple back up, not wanting it to go to waste.

"'Zigzagoon.' What is that? If it is a second name for me then you are poorly misinformed; I will only eat meat. Preferably raw and fresh." Jehiel said, grimacing as his stomach growled. "I request permission to go and find food before I starve."

"'Zigzagoon' is the name of your species; 'Jehiel' is your own individual name while anything that looks like you is called a Zigzagoon." I explained to Jehiel. "I don't know why you don't like fruit and instead eat meat, as that is very unusual for Zigzagoons, but I can't let you go out and hunt on your own. Despite what you may think there's no way you can take on anything that is much bigger then you so there is no way I'd let you go into to much danger; you'll just have to get used to the taste of fruit."

"Here, catch." Rayne said, suddenly throwing one of those cans of meat she fed Matariel at me. Fumbling I caught it and shrugged.

"Or we can feed you Matariel's food since she doesn't eat it anyways, I suppose." I grabbed the tab on top of the can and pulled it back, placing the opened can of Tauros meat on the ground in front of Jehiel. He hesitantly sniffed it and took a small bite.

"It's better then fruit. Although I question your decision to forbid me from hunting, just as I do your ban on killing, yet I can not go against the master's orders." Jehiel said before going back to eating.

Relieved that I had sorted that out I looked down at my two Pokémon who were ravenously eating their food. Now that I could understand what they were saying I felt a farther fondness for them then I had before. Before I had got the Pokécom, what chaos had said could have been true; for all I knew Rayne might have been making her special ability up and the Pokémon really did have no souls or emotions. But now that I could actually converse with them, they seemed much more individual, much more _real_. I smiled and looked up at the sky, thanking Zack in my head for the Pokécom and the friendship, if an awkward one at that, I had developed with him.

"You guys better be ready. We're leaving for Petalburg tomorrow morning and we should reach the city in just a few hours after that. I am sure there will be other trainers there we can find to battle." I told Zethro and Jehiel who both grunted in acknowledgement as they ate.

**End of Chapter 5**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Wow! It's huge!"

"Actually, it's sort of underwhelming. I know that Petalburg is smaller than Rustboro, but it seems outright tiny in comparison." I said, frowning as I looked at the buildings that told us we had finally reached Petalburg City. Whereas the buildings in Rustboro were mostly giant skyscrapers, here in Petalburg the average building wasn't much more than ten stories tall, with several flatter buildings spread about and a handful of taller ones nearer the city center. A Cyndaquil, Zethro, hung onto my shoulder, his rear paws sitting on my backpack as he stared in awe at the city having never seen one this close before; he had never even been inside Rustboro city proper, just the outskirts where The Pokémon Academy was.

"You mean that city is bigger than this one! How is that even possible!" Zethro exclaimed. I grinned and reached up, running my fingers through his fur.

"You're small, so of course everything seems bigger to you. Come on, I want to get a room at the Pokémon Center and drop this heavy backpack off before touring the city some." I said as I began walking again, passing underneath a sign that said "Welcome to Petalburg City!" despite the fact that we had already been walking through the residential outskirts of Petalburg for five minutes. As I walked I reached to the right side of my belt and pulled off my Pokédex, sliding my hand over its activator panel to open it up. I had set it to automatically switch to map mode on startup, so the map of our nearby surrounding was already displayed on the Pokédex's top screen, us at the center of the map. "This says that the Pokémon Center should be just down this street, on the right." Looking up I saw a Pokéball shaped sign hanging off one of the average sized buildings and nodded. "That must be it."

"When do you plan on challenging the Gym Leader here? Surely you don't expect to face him without any prior trainer battles and only a handful of wild Pokémon battles; the ones in which the Pokémon ran away not counting." Rayne asked as she followed behind me, brushing some dirt off her black camisole. Besides her her Absol, Matariel, walked. She was silent now, as she usually was. As I had found out yesterday after receiving a Pokémon translator, aptly called a Pokécom, from Zack Reilyn, a new friend I had met in the Petalburg Woods, Matariel didn't talk all that much; the only times she would usually say anything were when she wanted to go off somewhere or if she noticed a wild Pokémon near the trail for us to test our skills on, or even attempt a capture. Of course, capturing Pokémon was apparently not such an easy task; I had only managed to catch one more Pokémon in addition to Zethro, a Zigzagoon I named Jehiel, while Rayne hadn't caught any. I actually had the feeling she didn't really care about capturing Pokémon as whenever she tried it seemed almost halfheartedly, as if the only Pokémon she cared about owning was Matariel.

"Of course not; I'm not even sure I'm going to try against the leader today, or even tomorrow. All I want to do today is challenge another new trainer to a battle, which will probably require me to check out the Pokémon Gym anyway." I shrugged. "But first, this backpack is killing me."

"Don't forget that we're low on supplies; how much money do you have left in your account? Hopefully it's not too little." Rayne asked.

I glanced at the open Pokédex I was still holding, my eyes looking over the small auxiliary screen on its right side. In addition to that auxiliary screen this Pokédex also had two other parts, all of which were red in color. The first was a palm sized bottom half which you held vertically; on it was a large touch screen which displayed various buttons to control the handheld computer. The top part was the same size of the bottom and folded down on top of it like a flip style cell phone; on this part there was another large screen used as the main display, but this one lacked touch controls. The third part to the Pokédex, the auxiliary screen, was the smallest and stuck out of the top right side of the Pokédex when opened, only to fold over on top of the other two parts like a clasp when closed; this third part had a small screen on the front side of the panel, while the camera-eye used to scan Pokémon and such was on the backside of it. I had set up that auxiliary screen to display general supplementary information such as the time, current GPS coordinates, and the balance of the bank account tied to the current trainer ID it was set to; in this case me.

"Yeah, still have plenty." I nodded; satisfied with the number I was looking at. "Even if he's lowered my weekly allowance; a sort of punishment for leaving the Academy, I suppose; he's still transferring an ample amount over it looks like. If he ever decides to cut me off completely, that's when we'd have to start worrying; perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to withdraw some of this so we can bet on battles if it comes to that." I prayed that father wouldn't go crazy on me like that and decide I was no longer worth caring for, not that it would be much of a surprise if he did; we had hated each other for as long as I could remember. He had always insisted that Pokémon Training was simply barbaric and that I should grow up to become a well established lawyer like him, however I obviously saw things differently. While mother was still with us she was able to keep us and our arguments separated, but after a while she completely lost control and the house was pure chaos for a whole month as father and I went at each other every chance we had. Finally, two years ago, she simply called it quits and ran off into the night. One week later I was getting the mail only to find a letter of confirmation regarding the divorce of my father and mother. They had been arranging their whole divorce behind my back.

When I shoved the letter in father's face, demanding to know why he hadn't told me, he simply replied with a snide smirk these exact words which to this day I will never forget, "That bitch can't stand it anymore and wants to get away from everything, even you. There was no need for a court ruling even, I was automatically granted possession. I didn't tell you as I didn't want you to go into a crying tantrum over it; your insistence that Pokémon Training is noble and adventurous is far more shit than I like to hear anyways. Oh, don't worry, you're not staying here. It's quite obvious to me that you're a failure in every sense of the word, so I'm sending you away to the 'noble and adventurous' life you've always wanted. This Monday you will be moving to The Pokémon Academy, where you will continue your studies until you are sixteen and graduate. Then you will leave Rustboro City, which will forever be tainted by your failure at being anything remotely successful, to have the 'grand adventure' you are always babbling on about. No thank yous are needed; I'm the one who's glad you will finally be out of my hair. Forever."

As I recalled the scene I squeezed my Pokédex hard, accidentally activating the power panel which turned it off and closed it. Even to this day he still hates me, going so far as to forbid me from returning to Flamestar Manor and cutting the weekly allowance which was now vital to our survival in the wild. Steaming I slid the Pokédex back into its clip, scooping Zethro off my shoulders and holding him in my arms tightly. _I'll show him that I'm not a failure and that trainers can do great things. Who cares if I don't become rich like him; he's all alone now while I have both Zethro and Jehiel. Hah! Already I have triumphed over him in one area; score one for me! No, make that two; one for each of them!_ At the thought I smirked, passing through the Pokémon Center's sliding doors and into the circular foyer of the building, which was mostly empty at this time of day; most people were either out eating lunch or working around now. At the center of the foyer a circular desk was situated; a receptionist sitting in a chair at the middle of the desk looked up as we entered the building.

"Pokémon Trainers, I presume?" She said, snapping shut a book she had been reading. "My name is Karen and I will gladly take care of your Pokémon if they need any care or rest. We also have bedding accommodations I can take care of for you, as well as a cafeteria if you are hungry. If you need anything, just ask and I will take care of it; provided you can present the proper Trainer IDs, of course."

"Our Pokémon are in good shape so no, they don't need any care. I _would_ like rooms for the two of us, however." I said, setting Zethro on the ground as I fished my Trainer ID out of my pocket, handing it to Karen. Rayne walked forward and gave the receptionist hers as well. I don't know when she had got it, but it was the only item she had to indicate she really was a true, licensed Pokémon Trainer; she didn't even have a Pokédex.

"Okay, I will see what I can do; hold on a moment." Karen took the IDs and fed each of them in turn into a machine sitting on the desk with a small slot on it. She nodded as she handed them back to me, typing on a keyboard with her other hand. "I am sorry, but we only have a single room we can offer for the two of you. That's not a problem, I assume?" Noticing both of us blushing she quickly added "It has two beds."

"That will be fine." I replied, relieved. Two beds in one room I could live with; it wouldn't be any different than camping out together as we had been.

"Okay, I'll go ahead and register the room door's lock to your ID cards. The locks have a three day memory cycle, so if you want to stay longer you will have to inform me when the locks clear your access rights. Your room is on the third floor, room C42. In addition, this also gives you access to the cafeteria on sub-floor 1. Just ask me if you need anything else."

"Will do." I said, flicking my hand at her as I turned away, my ID held between my index and middle finger. I picked Zethro back up and Rayne followed me over to a bank of elevators situated along the curved wall at the rear of the Pokémon Center and into one that opened up for us. In silence we rode up to the third floor; two humans and two Pokémon all jammed into one small elevator. It really wasn't the most pleasant experience.

Finally we got off, me muttering under my breath about how close Matariel's head blade had been to slicing my leg off. Fortunately our room wasn't far from the elevators and I quickly found it, swiping my ID across a sensor next to the door. The door slid open and we all stepped into our temporary home. While I would have preferred each of us getting our own separate room, at least we had a room at all; some Pokémon Centers just had two or three large barrack-style rooms with numerous bunk beds scattered over the floor. Our room turned out to be fairly decently sized, and we even had our own bathroom, a luxury I had sorely missed during my two years at The Pokémon Academy. I didn't plan on hanging around for long, however. Dropping Zethro and my backpack onto the bed nearest the door I made up my mind; go eat something first, then go to the Pokémon Gym and find someone to battle with.

"I'm sure you're hungry, right Zethro?" I asked, glancing down at him. Why I even bothered asking I didn't know, he always seemed to be hungry.

"I'm starving... Do you think they have food for Pokémon, though?" Zethro asked as he leapt into my arms.

"I'm sure they do; what about you, Rayne?"

She shrugged. "I'm not _starving_, but I could use a bite to eat. Besides, I want to get our supplies before you forget about them and go running off into the woods carelessly; so I'll need you to be with me so I can actually _afford_ anything."

"I doubt any human food establishment will have anything I will like to eat, but I will follow Rayne nevertheless." Matariel added.

"Well then, that's settled. No need to bother asking Jehiel until we get down there. I hope they have cheeseburgers... Or maybe pizza..." I muttered the last two thoughts to myself as I walked out the door and back to the elevators.

"We have to go down in one of those again, don't we?" Rayne asked as we all stood in front of the elevator doors. I nodded and walked in, this time making sure to stand on the opposite side of the elevator from Matariel's head blade, once again fearing for the safety of my legs.

"Humans make the oddest contraptions." The Absol whispered as she squeezed in between me and Rayne.

"I don't think these elevators were meant to carry Pokémon out of their Pokéballs..." I said.

"We can all tell..." Rayne was now the one who was trying to keep her legs away from Matariel's head blade, but she managed to force herself into a corner where she was relatively safe from her own Pokémon.

"I don't see anything wrong." Zethro said, held above everything in my arms.

The elevator descended past the two levels below the third floor, before sliding to a stop at the first level below the ground; sub-floor 1. The elevator doors opened and I pushed my way out, squeezing past Matariel's rear end. This gave her enough room to turn around and walk out after me, leaving Rayne to be the final one out. She nearly ran into me though as I had stopped right outside the elevator doors, staring at the cafeteria entrance.

"Hey, it's common courtesy to move out of the way of a door when you pass through it." Rayne growled, before turning to face what I was looking at.

"The doors! They will not budge an inch, brother!"

"This must surely be the work of The Abominations! Only a force so evil as them could have crafted an inoperable door!"

"Quick, hand me the blade, brother!"

"But I do not _have_ the blade! We were forced to relinquish it, do you not remember?"

"No blade? But how are we supposed to destroy whatever evil force binds these doors together without our sacred blade!"

"We will have to force it open of our own strength! Ready, brother?"

"I am ready, brother!"

"Then on the count of one..."

"Two..."

"Three!"

Standing in front of the locked double doors to the cafeteria two young men stood, struggling to get them open. They looked to be around twenty years old, perhaps a year older or younger, with black hair that was tied back in rat-tails that stretched to just below their shoulders. The odd part about them was that they were both dressed in long, crimson red cloaks that brushed the ground as they walked; covering all of their bodies except for their heads and the hands which stuck out of the cloaks' sleeves. They were nearly identical, except one of them seemed a couple inches taller than the other.

"Excuse me, but just who are you?" Rayne spoke up. Apparently they hadn't noticed us before then as all of a sudden they gave up their efforts to open the doors and spun around to face us. Their eyes quickly turned from Rayne and me to our Pokémon instead, at which they gave a quick yelp in unison, reeling back in horror.

"Those! Those are The Abominations!" The shorter one said.

"And there are _two_ of them! What foul trickery _is_ this!" The older one gasped, still reeling.

"A—bominations?" I said. "What do you mean? _Who_ do you mean?"

"You do not know what The Abominations are yet you hold one in your arms? _Touching_ it!"

"This is pure madness! Brother, do you think we are seeing the fake reality again because we are so famished?"

"I do not know! But, wait... Do you think, these people could be... The Tainted?"

"Yes! That _must_ be it! These people _are_ The Tainted!"

"Oh! God bless their souls! Hopefully it is not too late!"

"We must perform the sacred ritual of parting! But, how... We do not have our blade..."

"Hmm... A tricky predicament indeed. Brother, I believe we must take a loss here. We can only hope these poor souls do not impart their taint upon others."

"But, brother! There must be a way! We can not let a fellow Chosen fall prey to The Abominations!"

"They are NOT of The Chosen! Do not say such words, _especially_ regarding a Tainted, brother!" The taller one suddenly snapped.

"I am sorry! I do not know better! God, please forgive me for this act of sin I unknowingly committed!"

"God forgives you, brother. You are still young in the ways of The Crimson Dawn; do not be ashamed for your ignorance."

During this whole incident, my thoughts were pretty much as follows: _Who the FUCK is on guard duty at the insanity asylum today! Whoever it is ought to be tarred and feathered for letting these loons escape!_

"Shrike? What's an abomination? Do they mean me?" Zethro whimpered.

"Rayne, I do not like these humans. Be very carefully around them, I can sense something about them that frightens even me." Matariel softly said. Surprised I noticed that she was shaking very slightly, and had an odd glimmer in her eyes I had never seen before.

Rayne's eyes briefly widened. "Even you? Is it really that bad?"

"When I look at them, all I see is blood and more blood stained upon a golden sword. These people have murdered in the past, and they will do so again many more times in the future. I do not know what they speak of; The Abominations, The Tainted, The Chosen, The Crimson Dawn; yet it is far more then we can handle currently. We are no match for them."

"Matariel sometimes will receive 'visions' of sorts, mostly images of events in a person's past or future." Rayne whispered to me. "She has only acted like this... No, she has never acted like this before."

"The Tainted are plotting amongst themselves, brother; I fear we must make leave now. Without our blade and untrained in The Great Art as we are, we are defenseless!" The shorter one exclaimed.

"I hear you, brother. Let us flee now!" The two "brothers" turned around and began to run off down the hallway, their cloaks streaming behind them.

"Hold it! Zethro, don't let them escape! Who the hell are you guys!" I yelled, I couldn't let them get away without knowing who they were and what they were doing, and if what Matariel claimed she saw in them was true or not.

"Wait. Shrike, did you not hear Matariel? They are too much for us now. They may be running away, however if needed I am sure they can fight us despite having lost this 'blade'; probably the sword Matariel saw. Leave them alone for now." Rayne said, grabbing my shoulder with one hand and a struggling Zethro with the other. Zethro squealed as she restrained him, however it was no use; he couldn't get free to stop them.

"You can at least tell us your names!" I shouted, gritting my teeth.

"You wish to know our names?" The older brother asked, stopping and facing us again.

"In that case, we will tell you."

"We are..."

"The Brothers..."

"Ranthos!" They said together in unison.

"Reich Ranthos, the elder!" The taller one exclaimed.

"Rayth Ranthos, the younger!" The shorter one.

"You know our names, and so it is only polite to give us yours now, even if you _are_ of The Tainted."

I was about to speak up, when Rayne squeezed my shoulder. "Our names do not matter to you. However, since you apparently fear Zethro and Matariel, if you don't leave now we will send them after you." Rayne coldly said. Admiringly I wondered how she was able to control herself so well while these "Brothers Ranthos" were calling us "Tainted" and our Pokémon "Abominations."

"Hmph, you think we _fear_ The Abominations? You truly _are_ of The Tainted. Nevertheless, we must be going regardless. Come, brother." Reich insolently said.

"Right behind you, brother. I can not stand being anywhere near one of The Abominations, and the sight of two Tainted beyond our aid saddens me."

Turning back they fled down the hallway again, and were quickly lost from sight as they turned into an emergency stairwell.

"Never give your name to people who are quite obviously enemies. Whoever they are; these "Chosen" and "Crimson Dawn"; we should avoid them at all costs from now on. Don't tell anyone of them, either. If those two find that word is spreading about their being here, they will naturally come seeking us as they told us who they are." Rayne said, letting go of me and Zethro.

Sighing I relaxed. "Yeah, you're right. But, they didn't actually _do_ anything that we can be sure of, so maybe they're not so bad after all. Come on; let's get through here the proper way." I waved my ID across the scanner by the cafeteria door and it beeped once, the doors sliding open. Relishing in the smell of food I ran into the cafeteria, followed by Rayne and Matariel. Thoughts of Reich and Rayth Ranthos were quickly forgotten as Zethro and I gorged ourselves on the free food lined out on a buffet along one wall of the cafeteria, tables spread across the floor. There were a few other trainer hanging out at the tables, all oblivious to what had gone on just outside the doors.

"The life of a Trainer is awesome!" I said around a piece of pizza I was shoving in my mouth. Zethro sat besides me on the table, already a pile of apple cores and small, empty plates sitting next to him.

"So is being one's Pokémon!" Zethro squeaked.

"Hah! You're not just any Pokémon! You're the one and only Zethro! You managed to survive that whole ordeal with Zelos and am now my strongest Pokémon, although Jehiel is great as well; okay, admittedly I only have you two, but still!"

"Hmm, the meat here isn't so bad. Master, do I have permission to get a sixth serving?" Jehiel, who I had let out of his Pokéball before I descended upon the buffet, said

"Rayne, I am ashamed to be here." Matariel growled as she stood along one of the walls, as far from us as she could get.

"I know, I know... That's men for you... Give them a little food and they instantly forget anything they consider unimportant at the moment... You better get used to it..." Rayne sighed, lounging at a table next to Matariel, eating a salad.

"Alright! Zethro, Jehiel; you ready!" I said, slamming my tenth empty plate onto the table and hastily standing up. "We're going to the Pokémon Gym, and facing... Somebody! Somebody _strong_! Somebody who we _will_ defeat! Let's get out of here already!"

* * *

Elsewhere...

"Sir! We have located them! Our agents reported that they have secured a room at the Petalburg City primary Pokémon Center! We even know precisely which room they are staying in!"

"Do you now? So our agents have already secured the Pokémon Center?"

"Yes, sir. We have our agents located at all major facilities throughout Petalburg. Operation Alpha is well underway; we should be able to begin the final phase tonight."

"If you are that confident, I trust that all operational parameters are within the set boundaries?"

"They are, sir. We do not currently have the highest power levels working, but—"

"It does not matter. We need not concern ourselves with how powerful it is tonight. This is merely a test run, to see if it will work as intended."

"If this is merely a test run, sir, what shall we do about any forces who try to stop us?"

"Deal with them as you see fit. The entire city of Petalburg is expendable."

"What about _him_ and the—"

"They are to be captured. Alive, if possible. At least be sure that _he_ stays alive. The rest are expendable"

"I understand, sir. Do you have any other question of me?"

"How is Iruel coming along?"

"Not so well. His physical body is literally being destroyed from the inside out; it is far too weak for him. If we hadn't tranquilized him and placed him in temporary stasis for a couple days after the incident he would have destroyed himself by now. The only things holding him together at the present are the tranquilizers, and even those are failing."

"We can not lose him; we spent too much on acquiring his essence. His body can be replaced if needed, however if it is destroyed before a replacement is ready, we will have to begin our search anew."

"I understand sir, shall we start the cloning process again? Would you like to use the same specimen this time?"

"You have permission to go ahead, and I would prefer it if is still the same specimen. It rather suits him, I must say."

"I agree sir, but I am worry that he might go berserk and destroy himself before we finish."

"Increase his daily tranquilizer dosage by 100cc then. If he continues to destroy himself, progressively increase by 25cc every day."

"100cc! But with his current dosage, that could very well kill him right now! Forgive my impudence, sir, but isn't this a little risky?"

"He will live, do not worry about that. If you are concerned, speed up the developmental process of this new body of his."

"If that is all you require of me, I will relay your orders to the Petalburg commander and get started on Iruel's new body."

The room the voices came from was dimly lit, the only lights coming from a bank of computer monitors set into a desk, all angled so that the person who sat at the chair behind the desk could see them all at the same time. Along with the man sitting behind the desk there was another man in the room, standing on the opposite side of the desk, facing the one who sat at it. As their conversation finished he snapped his legs together and saluted, turning on his heels and marching out of the room through a door that slid up into the ceiling as he approached it. The man at the desk remained silent for several more minutes, studying the computer monitors in his desk. Each of them displayed live video feeds from the area around Petalburg City, and some even featured the interior of buildings. There was only one monitor the man cared about, however, and that was the one displaying the foyer of Petalburg City's primary Pokémon Center. As he watched five new figures appeared on the camera; two human, and three not. The man examined the image, a smirk growing upon his face.

"So; that is the game you want to play. My, and I thought you would be so boring this time around; but you have changed tactics I see. But, then again, so have I."

Suddenly a red light lit up in the corner of one of the computer monitors and a voice filled the room. "Sir! We just got the report in, they have done it! The scientists in charge have broken the critical point on Project Thanatos! All that's left is the final phase!"

The man's smirk grew wider. "Excellent. Prepare my transport; I want to be there to oversee this personally."

"Right away, sir! Would you like a convoy?"

"Not this time, I will go alone."

"If that is what you request, sir."

The voice cut off as the communication channel closed, leaving the man in silence once again.

"And now, the tides have turned in my favor. Oh, yes, this game has now become much more interesting..."

The man stood up, brushing himself down before walking out of the same door the earlier man had left through. The only marks on the metallic door were the letters C and O, with a further R and E underneath them, imprinted on top of a red, fiery, sun-like circle.

**End of Chapter 6**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Shrike, don't you think you're acting a little overconfident..." Rayne sighed, hanging her head as we walked down a sidewalk in the heart of Petalburg City, toward the Pokémon Gym that sat at the very center of it all. She insisted that we stop and get her oh so needed supplies first though, so we were heading a little out of our way toward the city's primary Pokémart. Since it was a nice day we each had all of our Pokémon out of their Pokéballs, not that that meant much; Rayne only had her Absol, Matariel, while I only had my Cyndaquil and Zigzagoon, Zethro and Jehiel respectively. Usually I would be carrying Zethro, but this time I had decided that he could use the exercise and so he was walking alongside me with Jehiel. Matariel followed a short distance behind Rayne.

"Not really! I mean, it's not like I'm going to take on the Gym Leader or anything, I just want to take on some novice trainer that's hanging around there! I used to hang out around Rustboro Gym all the time, watching the battles and dreaming of actually taking part in one myself; now I'll be able to! I'm sure there will be someone hanging out there that's around my skill level, watching and learning from the Gym Leader and his apprentices. I just need to find someone like that, and then we will totally own them! Haha!" I exclaimed, pumping my fist in the air. "Right you guys? We're going to cream whoever we fight!"

"Cream? You mean we will kill them, liquefy their corpses, and turn whatever is left over into cream? That sounds fun." Jehiel said. I almost tripped and fell down.

"No, not really..."

"Then, master, what does it mean to cream someone?"

"First of all, don't call me master. I have a _name_, Shrike. S-H-R-I-K-E; Sh-rike. Got it?"

"I believe so, master Shrike."

I growled and mumbled under my breath about why _I_ had to get the weird Zigzagoon. "Anyways, creaming someone means we will beat them in battle so hard they will wish they hadn't even thought of taking up our challenge in the first place."

"So we will kill them painfully and slowly?" Jehiel innocently asked. _He really doesn't have a clue, does he..._ I thought to myself.

"No. How many times do I have to tell you; in Pokémon Battles we don't _kill_ the opponent, all you have to do is knock them _unconscious_. Once all of the enemy's Pokémon are unconscious, we win. Once we win, we go and celebrate with a huge dinner at the most expensive restaurant in this city. Can you understand _that_, at least?"

"Maybe... What does it mean to knock someone 'unconscious,' and why don't we just attack the enemy human directly instead?"

I sighed, this was looking hopeless. "Jehiel, I am your master, correct?"

"Yes; you weren't before but you are now."

"And I told you back at Zack's cave not to kill anyone, correct?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"So _why_ are you suggesting we kill things now since that would go against my orders, which you seem to value so highly?"

"I am merely offering my opinion; I will follow your orders to my death, but I must voice my opinion on the wisdom of them."

During this whole discussion we had somehow made our way to the Pokémart, miraculously without me bumping into anyone while I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking. I'm sure I noticed a few people giving me weird looks as to them it would appear that I was talking to myself. I was about to give Jehiel an order to never talk about killing someone again, when a familiar voice startled me.

"Why, look who's shown up! Shrike, good friend, I trust you are doing well?"

Looking up and forgetting the matter with Jehiel I took a step back in surprise. "Z—Zack! W—Why are you here? Why aren't you back in your, uh, cave?" I stuttered.

Zack flicked a strand of his blond hair back over his shoulder, smiling at me. However, I noticed something in his smile that seemed nervous, as if he was worried about something. "I needed to come into the city and get supplies, remember? Come closer, this is not the way for such good friends to greet each other, standing five feet apart like this!"

When I didn't budge Zack closed in on me, holding out his arms just as he had when we parted last time we met. This time I was ready though. "Jehiel, Zack is attacking me now." I whispered.

"For the master! We must protect him at all costs!" Jehiel shouted, leaping in between Zack and me. Jumping at Zack's right leg he clung to it with his claws, scrambling up the leg like an Aipom up a tree.

"Augh! Get it off of me! Friend, your beast of a Pokémon is out of control again!" Zack screamed, trying to push Jehiel off himself. The Zigzagoon managed to hang on and get onto Zack's chest before I decided that had been enough.

"Jehiel, he is not attacking me, you can get off of him now." I said.

"But, you said—" Jehiel began as he clung to Zack's shirt, turning to face me with confusion in his eyes.

"I was mistaken."

"If that is what the master says." Jehiel let go of Zack's shirt and did a back flip away from him, landing back on the ground next to me.

"Friend, you must really get more control over your Pokémon!" Zack panted, his approaches towards me now halted. Fortunately he didn't seem to have heard me give Jehiel the command to attack him in the first place.

"Jehiel is still in training; he has much to learn still." I replied. Jehiel was still confused over what had happened and so remained silent.

"Nevertheless, now that we have met, I would like to ask you a question." Zack grabbed my hand and began to pull me towards an alley next to the Pokémart, where Rayne wouldn't be able to see us. I managed to hold my ground and pull my hand out of Zack's, though.

"We can talk right here; there's no reason for Rayne to be left out."

"Like I really _want_ to see this..." She muttered, holding her head in her hands.

"It's not like you think it is!" I exclaimed.

"Hmm? Does Rayne think something is going on between us? Oh, I assure you, we are just good friends and nothing more." Zack nodded, realizing he wouldn't be able to separate us this time.

"That's not what it looks like..."

"Shrike, friend; what exactly do you see in this girl that makes you want to keep her around?"

"She's the one sticking to _me_. Enough about that though, you said you wanted to ask me something?" I knew that this conversation was going to a bad place, so tried to change the subject back again.

"Ah, yes. I was wondering if you, and Rayne if she would like, would want to come to my house, I am currently renting one in this city, and stay over for the night. We could all watch TV together and tell tales of our journeys so far; of course I would have to do most of the talking. Then we could have a big campout together! I'm sure you don't want to stay in that Pokémon Center room." Zack said with a look of consternation on his face.

"Is something wrong? You don't look that well." I asked.

"No, nothing is seriously wrong, I assure you that. It's just that I am a little worried over something I must be doing later, but that does not concern you, even if you are a friend."

"How do you know we're staying at the Pokémon Center? We could be staying in a normal hotel." Rayne asked, frowning and narrowing her eyes. It was then that I realized we hadn't told Zack where we were staying yet.

"Hey, yeah; how _do_ you know?"

"Oh, er, intuition; you're Pokémon Trainers, so it makes sense that's where you'd go. Say, if you want to take me up on my offer, just send a message to my Pokédex and I'll tell you where to meet me. The number is PD20-190-378-012, in case you don't remember. I have to be going now, though. See ya!" With that Zack turned around and hurriedly ran off down the street.

"Something is fishy with that guy, he said he needed supplies but he didn't have any before, and now he's just run away. Matariel?" Rayne turned to face her Absol, who had remained quiet this whole time. She must have realized that Zack could also understand Pokémon speech.

"Gray. A rolling mass of gray cloud. It obscures everything from view and blocks out both the light and the darkness." Matariel quietly said, before shaking her head. "There is not much to see in him; it is as if _he_ doesn't even know who he truly is, or how his life will play out."

Rayne nodded. "I thought so. Shrike, it would probably be for the best if you never meet with him again, nor take up this offer of his tonight. For all we know he might be trying to lure you into some kind of trap, and has been since you first met him. Of course, I could be completely wrong and he has no evil intentions at all, but we must be careful in these matters."

"I don't think he's evil... I mean, yes, he may act a little strange, but you can't judge someone based solely on how they act. For all we know, he might have had some traumatic experience as a child that changed him for the rest of his life and left him acting like this." I said. I wasn't quite sure I believed my own words, however.

"He's weird. Why did he have his arms out like that, and why did you tell Jehiel he was attacking you?" Zethro asked.

"It's a human thing, you wouldn't understand. Normally only a boy and a girl are supposed to act like that towards each other, though." I turned to face the Pokémart door, only now realizing we had been standing in front of it this entire time, and that the flow of people in and out of the shop hadn't stopped for us. I grimaced and blushed, embarrassed by the people who were streaming around us while giving me clear looks of disgust for now not only talking to myself, but also being friends with, well, Zack. "Let's just get this over with and get on to the Pokémon Gym..."

* * *

Our shopping went reasonably well, much to Rayne's satisfaction. She insisted that we stock up on as many potions and easy to prepare foods as possible, so by the time we had finished gathering everything together, the bag Rayne had brought with her to hold it all in was literally ripping at the seams. When I asked her how we would cart it all around from place to place since our backpacks were already stuffed full of clothing and other personal items, she merely shrugged and replied: "We'll just have to stuff it in, and if it doesn't all fit one of us will just have to carry this bag around. Here, take it from me." Grumbling about being forced to carry the heavy bag we set out again for the Pokémon Gym. My enthusiasm from earlier had mostly disappeared from the odd encounter with Zack; however I was still confident enough. 

"So, what exactly is this gym focused on? Who's the leader?" Rayne asked as we walked.

I pulled out my Pokédex with the hand that wasn't holding our supply bag and opened it up, pulling up the information on Petalburg's Pokémon Gym. "Says here that this gym is pretty much focused on all-around Pokémon, mostly normal types however some of the newer apprentices are starting to use other types as well ever since the League got rid of the 'one element per gym' law; that has also caused a wave of change among the novices that hang out there. The Gym Leader's name is Norman, and this says that he's actually the father of the Elite Four Champion, Brendan! Let's see, he's about 72 years old, but his fans still insist on saying he's the most handsome guy ever. They must be crazy. Many people, even those who aren't his fans, also say he's one of the most skilled Gym Leaders in all of Hoenn, enough to be part of the Elite Four if he seriously tried to get in." I read off the Pokédex's screen.

"Assure me again, you are not planning on taking Norman on, right?" Rayne asked.

"No, no; of course not. I might have been considering it for a while; you know, show the world just how good I am; but perhaps not. Look, there it is now." I pointed down the street to a large, dome shaped building ahead of us; it sat right at the intersection point of the two main streets that ran through Petalburg City from north to south and east to west. Getting closer to the Gym I noticed some specific buildings out of the corner of my eye and blinked. _Hey, that looks like The Pokémon Academy back in Rustboro..._

There were three different buildings I was looking at; two arc shaped and set facing each other with a third, cylindrical building right at the middle of them. From the sky it would like some weird, giant, flat Pokéball; however both Rayne and I knew what they were. "That must be Petalburg's Pokémon Academy. Didn't know they all looked the same." Rayne said, following my gaze to the buildings.

I nodded slowly before shaking my head. "No time for nostalgia now. Besides, not like I _want_ to remember that place."

Turning my attention away from Petalburg's Pokémon Academy I waltzed up to the Pokémon Gym's doors and tapped my feet impatiently as I waited for them to slowly swing open. Finally I rushed through the doors and into the foyer of the Gym, looking around and taking in the layout of the place; which was mostly that of a flat semi-circle with three doors leading off the flat wall of the room, with circular windows set into the curved part. Navigating between statues of Norman and his Pokémon I made my way to the reception desk and leaned against it, drumming the fingers of my right hand on the surface of the desk, trying to give off my best calm and cool impression. "This is the Petalburg City Pokémon Gym, correct?"

"Yes, it is. If you would like to challenge Norman he's already in a match right now, so you will have to wait. If you want to watch the match, head through the doors directly behind me." The receptionist behind the desk drawled, not looking up from the computer she was working at.

"Ah; I come from Rustboro City where the Gym is a sort of 'hangout' for new trainers, you could say. We would watch Roxanne battle, then take each other on right then and there to try out what we learned from watching her. I almost always won." I lied. _Got to sound like I know what I'm doing..._ "So, I assume that there are some novice trainers around here who would be willing to take me on?"

"You can go to the Trainer's lounge through the door to the far right; however we have also started up a new internship program in partnership with The Pokémon Academy you may be interested in." The receptionist said.

"Interns? How so?"

"For the most part they are juniors, although there are some seniors, who are at the top of their class and have thus earned honorary rights to get their own starter Pokémon before the rest of their class does when they become seniors. If they want, they can become interns here, essentially novice apprentices. They take part in official battles, meaning that if they win they earn a cash prize, and if they lose their opponent does. They also get extra credit towards their schoolwork if they do exceptionally well here. For the most part they are more skilled than the random newbies who like to hang out here, but not anywhere near the level of Norman or his apprentices. If you are interested, head through the far left door to the Intern's Lounge and you can meet whoever is here now and challenge them if you want."

"Hmm, sounds interesting, and like it will offer more of a challenge than some random nobody who thinks he will become the Elite Four Champion one day." I pushed myself away from the desk and nodded. "Thank you for your assistance." Turning to the left I briskly walked through the far left door into a short hallway; Rayne following me, shaking her head.

"What was that act all about; you didn't have to lie..."

"Ah, but it makes me sound more experienced than I am, just as I should be. Now, let's see how tough this Academy's students are..." I said, striding through the door at the end of the hallway and into the Intern's Lounge. The place reminded me of the Recreational Room back at Rustboro's Academy, some couches sat in an arc in front of a large TV on the wall, currently displaying the Gym's main arena with the battle the receptionist had talked about on. Some pool tables and pinball machines also lined the walls. The room was mostly vacant; in fact there was only one other person in the room when we entered.

"Hmm? Oh, are you here to challenge one of us? I guess the receptionist forgot to mention that when Norman is fighting, most of us like to go and watch his matches." A girl sitting on one of the couches said, looking up as we entered. "Me, I don't like crowded arenas so I usually just watch from here. The name's Aira Kaza; this match isn't very exciting so if you want I can battle you now."

"Shrike Flamestar, from Rustboro; in fact, I come from The Pokémon Academy there, but it's kind of a long story as to why I'm already licensed."

"Oh, you went to Rustboro's Academy? Are those your Cyndaquil and Zigzagoon?" Aira asked, noticing the two Pokémon standing besides me.

"Yeah, they are. I like to keep them out of their Pokéballs so they can get more exercise by walking."

Behind me Rayne pushed through the doorway which I had been blocking, coming to stand next to me. "Rayne Jarxis. I'm just here to watch over Shrike and make sure he doesn't do anything exceedingly stupid. Such as challenge Norman."

"Rayne..." Aira blinked, as if surprised to hear that name. "And that Absol, whose is that?"

"Mine." Rayne simply replied.

Aira frowned. "Hey, Shrike; your Cyndaquil wouldn't happen to be named Zethro, and your Zigzagoon Jehiel; would they?"

Gasping I took a step back. "H—how did you know?"

Aira suddenly grinned, jumping off the couch and rushing over to us. "I knew you'd be coming this way; Fire Bird!"

"C—Chaos?" I gasped. Yelping as Aira slapped me across the face.

"LordDark; highest ranking student at the Petalburg Pokémon Academy. Don't ask me where that nickname came from just because we've met in real life now." Aira said, twirling around. Blinking at this revelation I took a new look at her. She looked a year older than me, but that was to be expected since she was a senior while I had only left the school as a junior. Her long, light-blue hair was perfectly straight and hung down her back except for two strands that were slung over her shoulders. I couldn't help but think that, overall, she was quite good looking. That wasn't what concerned me now, however.

"Y—you're a girl! I thought you were a guy! I mean, your nickname is _Lord_Dark!" I exclaimed.

"As I said, don't ask about the nickname; it's just that I've always been sort of tomboyish my whole life, so many people have treated me like a boy."

"Why didn't you tell me you were here? You knew I was coming this way." I asked, trying to push the shock of LordDark being a girl out of my mind.

"I was thinking of doing so, but the last time we talked you got off before I could say anything." Aira said. "Well, no sense in just standing around here, we planned to meet each other in real life eventually, remember? There's not much to talk about anyways; but I'm sure you want to challenge me to a battle, right?"

"Well, that's why I came here. Just because you're a friend and a girl, I'm not going easy on you." I smiled, Aira returning it.

"Well then, there's a stadium just for intern battles that should be empty right now; I don't think anyone else is using it. Shall we?" Aira turned around and walked over to a door set in the wall across the room, pulling out her trainer ID and waving it across the door lock's scanner. The door slid up and she walked through it, holding down a button on the other side of the door to keep it from closing. "Well? Come on."

Rayne and I, with our Pokémon, walked over and through the door, Aira releasing the button and letting the door shut behind us. Another short hallway later and we emerged into a large, empty room. Along each wall a short stack of bleachers sat, on one of which Rayne took a seat along with the supply bag I had given her, and in the middle of the floor the standard split rectangle with two boxes on the ends was painted but that was pretty much all that was in the room. As Aira walked over to the left side of the field and took up a position in the box there and I did the same on the right side, a referee wearing a white and black striped shirt emerged through a door that blended in with the wall and walked over to us.

"You want to have a battle now, Aira? Don't you want to watch Norman's match?" The referee asked.

"Nah, not this time. Besides, this is a friend of mine and I don't want to keep him waiting."

"So much so that you forgot to scan his ID into the computer?"

"Ah, well... I always seem to forget that." Aira sighed. "Hey, Shrike, you won't mind scanning your ID on that panel over there, will you?" She pointed to a black panel with an orange light over it near the door we had came in through and I shrugged.

"Guess not." I walked over to the panel and ran my ID over it. As soon as I did the light turned to green and I walked back over to my box.

"Alright..." The referee nodded, looking at a small handheld computer. "This will be a one on one match between Shrike Flamestar of Rustboro City, and Aira Kaza of Petalburg. Standard battle rules apply with no switching permitted. The first to knock out their opponent wins. Send out your Pokémon now!"

"Fury, go!" Aira called as she pulled her single Pokéball off her belt, throwing it out onto the field. The light from the Pokéball materialized into a small dog like Pokémon, mostly black in color except for its belly and snout which were brown. Two white strips, similar to bones, ran along its back while four similar loops were on each of its paws. What looked to be part of a skull sat between its ears; rather fitting with its dark and evil look.

"Dour!" Aira's Houndour, Fury, howled; a meaningless sound which the Pokécom couldn't translate.

"A Houndour? Well then, looks like we'll be fairly even type wise. Zethro!" I shouted.

"I'm on it!" Zethro ran from my side onto the field, facing down Fury and growling at him.

"Master, why may I not fight?" Jehiel asked from my side.

"Because Zethro is stronger than you, and I'll be needing that strength."

"Huh? Did you just say something?" Aira called from across the battlefield.

"No, you must have been hearing things." I replied, knowing that she still wouldn't believe me if I told her I could understand my Pokémon.

"Aira has chosen her Houndour, Fury, while Shrike his Cyndaquil, Zethro! This fight will now commence!" The referee yelled, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Since you're the challenger, you may make the first move." Aira told me.

"Alright then, Zethro; let's start this off with a Quick Attack to get in closer!" I commanded.

"Quil!" Zethro shouted, a meaningless battle cry just as Fury had done. Taking off he began a fast sprint straight at Fury, who merely stood there as Zethro got ever closer. _What's she doing, not even trying to dodge..._ Zethro was now just a couple feet from Fury and jumped at it, right as Aira finally spoke up.

"Fury, Faint Attack." Aira smirked.

"Dour!" Fury shouted, suddenly springing into the air right at Zethro, a black aura glowing around him. The two collided in the air head on, but in the end it was Zethro who got knocked back farther, dark sparks of energy leaping around his body as he fell to the ground limply.

"Zethro! No; get up!" I yelled.

"Don't worry, I won't lose to this guy..." Zethro growled as he got to his feet. His fur was messed up and he looked a little worn out, but he seemed otherwise alright.

"That's the spirit! That's a pretty nice Houndour there, Aira."

"Thank you, but if you don't do something soon I may attack you off guard"

"Oh, er, yeah. Alright Zethro; fill the field with a Smoke Screen!" I ordered Zethro.

"Cynda—Quil!" Zethro yelled, opening his mouth and spraying black smoke from it over the field. The smoke continued pouring from his mouth for awhile, until most of the battlefield was covered in the smoke. While Zethro couldn't exhale fire from his mouth, he was still able to with smoke.

I couldn't see Aira through the smoke, but I knew that she was grimacing. After my story of what had happened to Zethro she hadn't been expecting that. "Fury, brace yourself. Zethro can't see anything in this smoke either, but be ready for a sudden attack nevertheless."

"She's right, I can't see anything in here. What's the point of this?" Zethro asked me, sounding worried.

"Just do as we've practiced, use Double Team to create imaginary copies of yourself so that when the smoke fades Aira won't know which to go after." I said. Zethro's Double Team wasn't very strong yet, he could only make a handful of copies, but it should be enough as long as Zethro realized what I was planning.

Through the smoke I saw glimmers of light as the imaginary Cyndaquil clones spread out around the battle field as the smoke diminished. After a moment almost all the smoke had disappeared, except for a few puffs here and there, leaving the now five Pokémon on the battlefield exposed; one Houndour and four Cyndaquils.

"Fury, use a Flamethrower to destroy all those clones and reveal the real one." Aira commanded, her voice flat and calm, unfazed by the battle; she must be used to situations like these by now.

"Houn—dour!" Fury shouted, releasing a stream of flame from his mouth. Moving from right to left he swept the trail of fire across the battlefield, each of the imaginary Cyndaquil clones being hit in turn by it and disappearing. I did nothing to stop it. I knew by now that Zethro had known what I planned to do.

"W—what!" Aira gasped as every one of the four Cyndaquils on the field was hit by the fire and disappeared, none of them having been Zethro. "Where is it? None of those were the real one!"

"Now! Zethro, Flame Wheel!" I shouted triumphantly. I had this in the bag. Zethro burst out of one of the few remaining puffs of smoke right next to Fury, his back already flaring up.

"Idiot." I heard Rayne say from her seat on the bleachers. I realized at the last moment why, but it was too late to say anything.

Zethro leaped at Fury, spiraling in a circle of fire. But neither Fury nor Aira did anything to stop him, in fact Aira was smirking. Zethro collided with Fury right on its side, making him stagger a little, however when Zethro fell away and backed off, Fury looked none the worse off. In fact, a faint red glow now surrounded him.

"Flash Fire. A special trait which certain Houndours, Fury included, have which absorbs all energy from fire attacks and uses it to boost their own." Aira smirked.

"No! Zethro, get out of there!" I shouted. _Damn it! A perfectly executed plan gone to waste because of my stupidity! How should I have known it has Flash Fire? Then again, I shouldn't have used a fire attack anyways as they're weaker against another fire type! Argh, I'm such an idiot!_

"To late to escape now. Fury, finish this with Flamethrower!" Aira ordered.

Zethro tried to run away but didn't have enough time. Before he could get much more than ten feet away from Fury, the Houndour released another stream of fire directly at Zethro, and this time he was no fake clone.

"Quil!" Zethro yelped as he was enveloped in the fire stream. For a moment I prayed that the type mismatch would keep the attack from finishing Zethro off, however I knew that Fury was to powerful; plus Zethro's Flame Wheel had boosted his fire power farther. When the stream of fire finally dissipated Zethro lay unconscious on the ground, his fur badly singed.

"Shrike Flamestar's Cyndaquil, Zethro, is unconscious! The winner of this match is Aira Kaza!" The referee announced, raising a red flag in my direction.

"Zethro!" I shouted, running onto the battlefield and over to him. Bending down I scooped him up in my arms. His breathing was heavy and he was far hotter than normal. I knew that he shouldn't die from that attack; while you would think an attack like that would charbroil anything it touched, Pokémon were much more resilient to elemental attacks than people; but I was worried about his safety nonetheless.

"Here, use this for now. He can get better treatment when we get back to the Pokémon Center."

I looked up and found that Rayne had walked over from the bleachers, one of the potions we had just bought in her hand. I took it and hastily sprayed the soothing mist over Zethro. There was no specific area on him that was in worse condition than the rest, so I tried to make the spray as even as possible. Almost too quickly the small bottle was empty, however, and sighing I pulled Zethro's Pokéball off my belt.

"That was a good match, and your plan was excellent. If you had only realized that Fury might have Flash Fire beforehand, you might have actually beaten me." Aira said, walking over to me as I recalled Zethro and placed the Pokéball back on my belt.

"Yeah, it was a good match. I suppose I just need to work on thinking things through a little more from now on." I nodded, shaking Aira's hand. I couldn't say I was happy with the outcome of the match, but at least I had done well. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that Fury and Jehiel had approached each other and seemed to be talking.

"You are another of that human's Pokémon?" Fury asked.

"Yeah. What's it to you? Since master fought you, I can only assume you are an enemy."

"You do not understand Pokémon battles, do you?"

"I understand that the goal should be to kill each other, but master is refusing to let me kill. In fact, seeing as you almost killed my partner, I am having to restrain myself from killing you, or even attacking, as I have a feeling master would not be pleased with that."

"You are a very strange Zigzagoon, you know that?"

"Not really. I do know that my master is very strange, though. But I am starting to get an idea of what he likes and dislikes; pretty much everything the opposite of what should be right."

"Good! You're finally getting there!" I clapped, overjoyed that something must have gotten through to Jehiel finally.

"Um, who are you talking to?" Aira asked. "Don't tell me you still think you can understand Pokémon..."

"Well, yeah. Come on Rayne, support me here!"

"What he says is true; however I'm staying out of this." Rayne said

"What? Why? But still, you heard her; she said that I'm telling the truth! I have this translator stuck in my ear that my friend Zack gave me that allows me to understand Pokémon speech!" I exclaimed.

"Prove it then, let me see it." Aira said. "Which ear is it in?"

"The left."

Aira grabbed my head and turned it so she could see into my left ear. "Nope, don't see anything. Just a lot of ear wax."

"It's in there pretty deep; I think most of it is in my ear canal. Actually, I have no idea how I'm supposed to get it out if I ever wanted to..."

"Until I see any solid proof of the existence of this Pokémon Translator, I refuse to believe you." Aira crossed her arms sternly and I knew I wouldn't be able to convince her otherwise.

"Whatever, believe what you want. Hey, you wanta come down to our room and hang out for a bit, you know, talk and such?"

"Sorry, I have to stay here; this is pretty much my job. Come and see me before you leave the city, though!"

"We will! Come on, Jehiel; we've got to be going." I said, turning around and walking back towards the door as Jehiel ran to catch up with me, Rayne and Matariel following. At the doorway into the hallway that lead to the Intern's lounge I paused, turning around and giving one final wave to Aira.

* * *

For most of the rest day I stayed in our room at the Pokémon Center worrying about Zethro, who I had given to Karen to take care of. She had said that he would probably be in good condition again in a couple hours, and most of those I whittled away by alternating between writing my stories, and browsing around online without any real clear goal. Rayne spent her time drawing, as usual. It was now that I realized that perhaps a trainer's life wasn't all action after all. 

Eventually my cell phone rang and I picked it up to Karen's voice, telling me that Zethro was fine now and that she would send him up to our room in his Pokéball. As she said this a panel on the wall flipped down, revealing a pad that looked just like the kind used to transmit Pokéballs through computers. The pad began to glow and a Pokéball materialized in it, me greedily snatching it up and opening it as the panel flipped closed again. As Zethro appeared on my bed, curled up in a ball and sleeping, I thanked Karen and shut my cell phone.

Zethro looked perfectly normal and for that I was relieved. Petting him to smooth out his fur as he slept I went back to writing and continued like that for the rest of the day, taking only one small break to drag myself down to the cafeteria and eat something alone with Rayne, our Pokémon left alone in our room; we had decided that from now on we would just bring something back for them.

Eventually darkness fell and I lay down for bed, running thoughts through my mind of what to do the next day. We could either stay in Petalburg another day, maybe just walk around to see the sights some, or we could go out and get on a boat headed for Dewford Island; which we planned to go to next since we might actually stand a chance against the Gym Leader there with a little more training.

When the single window in our room shattered during the night, neither of us was awake enough to realize what was going on. Drowsily we both began to wake up at the sound; however before we could do anything five dark figures had climbed through the broken window and into the room with us.

"Don't say a word and come with us. If you refuse we will be forced to take extreme measures." A gruff voice said over me. I felt a cold, metal tube being pressed against my forehead, but I was too sleepy to realize what it was. I was alert enough to know that something very bad was going on, though.

"Master, what is—Goon!" Jehiel suddenly yelped. In the dim light cast from the moon outside I saw one of the other persons bending over Jehiel, a syringe having been pushed into his neck. The man lifted Jehiel's limp body up and placed it in a barred cage, locking the hatch on it. Looking away frantically I noticed that the same had already been done with Zethro, and even Matariel's limp form had been forced into a cage.

"Who are you guys, what are—" I was cut off by a clicking sound from whatever was pressing into my forehead, and I realized suddenly that it was a now cocked gun.

"Shrike. Do what they say, be quiet." Rayne whispered to me from across the room. I realized that one of the men also had a gun pressed against her forehead.

"You'd do wise to listen to your girlfriend." One of the men; the one holding Jehiel's cage, I believe; sneered. I was about to yell at him for saying that when Rayne shook her head. Gritting my teeth I realized that they were trying to push me to my limits to give them a reason to shoot.

When I remained silent the man over me said to both Rayne and I, "You are now prisoners of CORE. Cooperate and harm will not be brought to you. We will lower you down the outside wall of the Pokémon Center one by one, where our men below will load the lot of you into a van to be brought directly to our local outpost here in Petalburg. If at anytime during this you resist or struggle we will not hesitate to kill you."

"Hey, what is going on? Why am I in this cage? Ahh! Let me go! Quil!" Zethro suddenly screamed, waking up. With fear in my stomach I waited for the inevitable gun blast because of the outburst, yet none came.

"Lower the Cyndaquil first, then the other two Pokémon." The man above me, apparently their leader, ordered. I watched as one by one the three Pokémon's cages were clipped to a rope pulley system set up below our window. I gritted my teeth even harder, resisting every nerve in my body that told me I ought to be rescuing my Pokémon. If I did anything I would surely be killed.

The time came for Rayne to be lowered down and she obediently walked over to the window, a gun constantly held to the back of her head. After pulling on a rock-climbing harness and clipping herself to the rope she climbed over the windowsill and disappeared from view. After a moment I was told to do the same and reluctantly did so. Normally, rappelling down the side of a building would be something I greatly enjoyed, however this situation was kind of different, I had never expected we'd be kidnapped; especially by CORE, who everyone had used to think was a normal company. Sure, they had developed a monopoly throughout all of Hoenn and were spreading to Kanto and Johto as well, but that they were now kidnapping people and Pokémon was unprecedented.

Landing on the ground I found myself assaulted by several CORE soldiers who unclipped me from the rope, hastily bound my hands behind my back, and literally threw me into the back of a black van. I ended up landing on top of Rayne who merely grumbled at how, if we had to be kidnapped, they could at least treat us a little better. The van sped off immediately, but because there were no windows in the back I had no idea where we were going. My eyes adjusting to the dark I saw that our Pokémon were back here as well, but that they all appeared to be sleeping. Sighing I propped myself up against the side of the van as we were taken to who knows where.

Finally the doors opened up and a large CORE soldier in an all black uniform grabbed me, pulling me out of the van and setting me on my feet outside in what appeared to be some kind of garage. Another soldier ran up to me, a pistol ready in his right hand. He held it against the back of my head and I heard a click as the gun was cocked. "Follow that guy ahead of you, you understand? Try anything funny and you're dead, no second thoughts from me. You're nothing to me."

I did as I was told and followed the soldier that had been indicated. I knew without looking that behind me Rayne was also following along with the cages our Pokémon were in. We ended up being forced through a maze like path of steel walled corridors, and at several times I feared I would lose the guy I was following. I knew that if that happened I would die. At last I found myself standing before a steel door, the soldier I had been following taking up a position to one side of it.

"Commander, we have them. You said to bring them directly to you?" The guy with the gun to my head said. I assumed that he was probably talking into a handheld radio or something. I didn't hear the reply, but the door in front of me beeped and slid upwards. I was shoved in the back and politely told "Get going" and so I did.

Inside the room I found myself in several computer banks lined the walls, screens both large and small displaying various things at the computer stations operated by CORE technicians. At the rear end of the room a catwalk ran through the air above the ground, and it was to this catwalk my eyes were drawn.

"So, friend, I trust you have had a pleasant journey here?" A man with blond hair on the catwalk said.

"W—Wait, what's going on!" I gasped.

"Isn't it obvious? You have been kidnapped. Welcome to CORE's brand new Petalburg outpost! I am the commander of CORE section 9, division 3; we are CORE's very best field research and testing unit, and I am their commanding officer—"

Behind me Rayne emerged into the room and gasped as well. "Is that..."

"Zachary J. Reilyn!" Zack exclaimed, a wide grin splitting across his face as he gripped the rails of the catwalk, looking down on us.

**End of Chapter 7**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"We are CORE's very best field research and testing unit, and I am their commanding officer, Zachary J. Reilyn!" Zack exclaimed as he stood on the catwalk before us, suspended in the air in front of an empty wall.

"I told you he wasn't to be trusted..." Rayne scowled. "From the moment I saw him, I knew something was wrong. Matariel only furthered my suspicions."

"So, you're the one behind this, huh?" I growled, "You've been trying to get me this whole time; it all makes sense now. That's why you were so desperate for me to stay the night back when we first met, and why you tried again just earlier today; isn't it? What did we ever do to make you want to kidnap us!"

Zack's grin faltered for a brief moment. "I assure you that I am not the one who wants you captured; I merely relayed my orders from our leader to my men."

"Ah, so you're not even in control of yourself, are you? You're just following your orders like a dog, and so that makes everything right?" I tried getting my hands free from the rope they were bound by, but found that it wasn't as easy as all the movies showed. _He lied to me! That filthy bastard! He claimed he was all "friendly" but then he goes and backstabs us! As soon as _he_ turns _his_ back..._

"I will not take such remarks from a prisoner, especially in my own base; even if you are a friend."

"So you're still calling me 'friend,' are you? Well I've got something to tell you; friends don't go about kidnapping friends, you backstabber! How the hell are you a commander anyway? You're only sixteen or so!"

"In all truth it would help if I was younger. I have been finding it hard as of late to pass myself off as a new trainer, as I sometimes must do." Under his breath Zack quietly mumbled, "Besides, if you must be calling someone to young for his job, take a look at CORE's new leader; he isn't even twenty yet and he has the nerve to think he is better than the rest of us..."

"I don't care about your boss; he's not the one who betrayed us! But you... Even your story about your life as a 'trainer' was a lie! You haven't told me one single truth, have you? You're nothing but a lowlife, backstabbing, lying bastard!"

"Shrike, stop. This will get us nowhere." Rayne said.

"You would do wise to listen to Rayne; our leader has ordered me to kill you if you resist, and I'd say this argument counts as grounds enough for punishment." Zack turned around, facing the wall with his back towards us. "Regardless, I have something I'd like to show you first before you are hauled off to your cells. Deactivate the light shield!"

As we watched, the formerly blank wall that Zack stood in front of began to turn transparent, as if it was being dissolved. I quickly realized that it wasn't a wall at all, but a large pane of glass that had a special projector fitted behind it that could project a field of light that distorted whatever was seen through it enough to make it appear opaque. With the light shield now gone, I could see that the room we were in actually overlooked a large cylindrical pit behind it, inside of which some kind of awkward machine sat on a circular platform. The machine didn't look all that pretty; at the top of the machine there was some kind of gently curved dish with an antenna coming from the center of it, all attached to a mess of metal plates and wires below; but I instantly knew that it was not good news at all.

"We are calling this device an Arcana Energy Wave Generator, or AEWG. This is just a prototype, but when operational it will operate much like a sort of massive, destructive, Pokéball; to be quite crude in my terminology. Unlike the Pokéballs you Trainers carry, the AEWG will be capable of transferring not only Pokémon, but also humans and all other kinds of organic life forms directly to a mass holding chamber within this base in the form of energy, whereupon their arrival they will be converted back to matter for processing purposes. In addition, the AEWG uses such a powerful form of energy that while it will not hurt living tissue, instead absorbing it and transferring it here as I just said, it will possess destructive capabilities against anything nonliving, thus making it suitable for use as a weapon in war." Zack recited, his back still towards us. "I am showing you this of my own will; I received no order to do so. I cannot tell you _why_ we have built it, however, as I am strictly forbidden from talking about CORE's plans with our prisoners."

My mouth was agape at the thought of what this AEWG thing would be able to do. If it turned out to be as powerful as Zack implied, it could very well wipe out an entire city, all the while making prisoners of every single human and Pokémon it targeted. This time Rayne spoke up before I could burst out in anger.

"'Arcana Energy' is how this 'AEWG' works, correct? I have never heard of such a thing before."

"I am also not authorized to go into details about how our technology works with our prisoners." Zack flatly replied.

"Who cares _how_ it works with what this thing can _do_! We can't let them go through with this!" I said.

"I am afraid you are not in a position to talk, my friend."

I gritted my teeth and scowled at Zack. He was right of course, I could do nothing. I was useless, and in just a few minutes we'd be locked away in a cell for who knows how long, or even what for. I had a good feeling that Zack wouldn't answer either of those questions if I asked.

"Before you go, I would like to repeat an offer to you that we weren't able to carry through on before. You see, I have been told that it does not matter how cruelly we treat you during your stay here, however I consider that heartless and unsporting. And so, I challenge the two of you to a double Pokémon battle. If you win, you will receive the best treatment I can afford you while you are here. If you lose, you will be treated like the lowly prisoners you are. I may even allow you to spend time together with your precious Pokémon if you win, although if you lose I will be forced to separate them from you. Forever." Zack turned back around to face us. "So; what do you say?"

"Bring it on! I say we go for it!" I shouted.

"I will take you up on your challenge as well." Rayne said. I frowned and glanced at her, I had really been expecting her to object.

"Wonderful! You may each choose one Pokémon; not as if Rayne has much choice in this matter." Zack smiled, pulling a Pokéball off his belt in each hand.

"Zethro. I can't leave him out of this fight." I answered.

"Very well then. All CORE personnel, I request that you remove yourselves from this room at once! We can not be sure that these two Pokémon will not try and kill their captors once they are released!" Zack announced.

The CORE technicians sitting at the computer stations around the room got up and hurriedly rushed out the door behind me and Rayne as two CORE soldiers came running through; one carrying Matariel's cage and the other Zethro's. Setting them on the ground they undid the locks on the cages and hefted the sleeping Pokémon out of them, before plunging a syringe into each of their necks and running out of the room again, the door sliding shut behind them. Whatever drug was in the syringes instantly woke the Pokémon up and they snapped alert, quickly jumping to the ground and looking around. While I didn't know about Zethro, Matariel had a vicious look in her eyes that told me Zack had made a very wise decision in evacuating the room. At least, the CORE people should be glad about it; I wouldn't mind if a few of them fell to us before the end.

"Shrike, what's going on... I'm scared..." Zethro whimpered.

"I don't really know either; all I do know is that we're finally taking Zack up on his challenge! But this time, it's for more than fun and games! Don't hold back a single bit!" I wanted to run over and soothe Zethro; however my arms were still tied behind my back and I could only grin supportively at him.

"So this human _is_ a traitor! Let me at him, Rayne, and he will not live to see another day!" Matariel growled, pure rage in her eyes.

"Calm yourself, you must not let anger cloud your judgment; you can not reach him from here anyways. We must follow along for now and take part in this battle; but if you wish, do not show any restraint." Rayne said.

"Well then; I send out Grovyle and Mightyena!" Zack shouted, throwing his two Pokéballs in the air. They split open and the wolf and lizard Pokémon appeared in front of Zethro and Matariel on the open floor of the room. Just as last time the Grovyle stared intensely at the four of us in turn without making a noise; however to my surprise the Mightyena just stood there as well, barely even moving. I had fully been expecting it to start growling menacingly at us.

Matariel's eyes widened as she saw the two Pokémon. "Rayne, I do not know how, but these Pokémon are not _whole_. While they may look and act real enough, it is as if they have no personality or emotion, as if something deep has been taken from them and left them empty."

"Your Absol makes a wise observation, Rayne." Zack called down. "We here at CORE can't stand disobedient Pokémon, so we have devised two methods that bend them to our will. As I'm sure you remember, Shrike, good friend; this Mightyena had been given the weaker of those methods; it still allows the Pokémon their own free thoughts, yet they will follow out absolutely any order we give them. I had been hoping to keep him that way, yet I have now been forced to apply the stronger method, bringing him to match the rest of my Pokémon. He no longer possesses the ability to think freely for himself, nor does he have any emotions. He is now effectively a machine that will follow my every word without question or remorse."

I was about to burst out in anger again at this shocking revelation, but Rayne surprised me by beating me to it. "What? How could you! The very thought... It is as if you are destroying the Pokémon's soul! Who the hell would be so deranged to think up such procedures!" Rayne burst out, anger matching Matariel's flaring in her eyes.

"Our leader himself, the nut job he is; especially when you consider that _pet_ of his he's so fond of bringing everywhere... Truth be told _I_ don't even like him, and I work for him! Fortunately I don't see him all that much as he seems to disappear off the surface of the Earth at the most random of times... But, anyways, I see no fault in tweaking with a Pokémon's mind to make it follow its master's orders. You can see Pokémon as 'friends' all you want, but I see them merely as tools that are to be used to reach our goals."

"Do you still think calling him a lowlife bastard is such a bad idea?" I glanced over at Rayne.

"Despite how utterly wrong and sickening these CORE ideologies are, name calling will still get us nowhere. On the other hand, we can at least get rid of these shells that CORE has the nerve to call Pokémon." Rayne scowled, eyes narrowed to small slits. I had never imagined she could ever be this angry; she was usually so calm...

"Wait, you don't mean... You're not going to _kill_ them! You can't go killing other trainers' Pokémon." I shouted frantically.

"You are losing focus of the situation here. They are not Pokémon; they are empty machines, just as Zack said. Plus, he is no trainer. Matariel; Swords Dance! We can not let this drag on longer than needed!" Rayne shouted.

"Sol..." Matariel growled, closing her eyes. She began to glow with a white aura, especially around her claws, fangs, and head blade.

"Grovyle, take down that Absol with Leaf Blade. Mightyena, use Crunch on the Cyndaquil." Zack ordered, unfazed with Rayne's sudden determination to kill his Pokémon.

I had been stunned by Rayne's words, but Zack's sudden attack towards Zethro quickly snapped me back to the fact that we were now in a battle. "Zethro! Don't let that Mightyena hit you! We can't be sure it's not aiming to kill!"

Zethro deftly jumped away from where he had been as the Mightyena came crashing down on the spot, its fangs wide open, having intended to close them around Zethro but instead finding empty air. At the same time the Grovyle was running at Matariel, the curved leaves on its arms glowing white as it swept an arm back to take a swipe at Matariel, who was still focusing on Swords Dance. Just as Grovyle was about to hit her, however, her eyes snapped open and she quickly swung her head around, the Grovyle's Leaf Blade being parried by Matariel's head blade. With a further flick of her head Matariel knocked Grovyle down and stood over it.

"Matariel, use an unrestrained Slash to finish that shell off." Rayne glowered.

"Zethro, get behind the Mightyena and use Quick Attack!" I ordered.

"Grovyle, get up and back away from the Absol, then attack it with Bullet Seed. Mightyena, lower the Cyndaquil's speed with Scary Face." Zack commanded.

Matariel raised her glowing claws back, ready to bring them down and finish off the Grovyle for good, when suddenly it leapt to its feet and jumped backwards in a back flip, landing on top of a computer. Opening its mouth it spit out a stream of green seeds at Matariel who winced as they hit her full force, but she managed to hold her ground. During that, on my side of things, Zethro began to run around Mightyena as fast as he could, but Mightyena's eyes turned a bright red and its muzzle twisted into an evil smirk. Squealing, Zethro tripped over himself and collapsed to the ground, lying on his side and breathing heavily as Mightyena stood there blankly, not able to do anything without an order.

"Quick! Matariel, get in there and drag that shell off that computer before Zack can do anything about it; it isn't able to defend on its own!" Rayne suddenly yelled right after the stream of seeds from Grovyle had ended.

"My pleasure." Matariel growled, breaking into a sprint and closing the gap between her and the computer in an instant. Leaping into the air she managed to grab one of the Grovyle's legs in her fangs, pulling the lizard to the floor as she fell down.

_Crack!_

The Grovyle's leg splintered into fragments between Matariel's jaws, blood running out around the Absol's fangs. I gasped at the sound; even breaking another Pokémon's bones in a battle was something extremely uncommon. _But she's right. These aren't whole Pokémon, and this isn't a real battle, as Zack isn't a real trainer..._

Zack hesitated only a moment at this turn of events. "Grovyle, use your good leg to—"

"WHAT THE _FUCK_ IS GOING ON IN HERE!"

The door to the room suddenly slid upwards into its housing and an extremely angry looking CORE soldier walked into the room, the door shutting again behind him. His face twisted into a scowl as he took in the four Pokémon throughout the room. "You were ordered—"

"Aha! Gotcha!" Zack suddenly exclaimed, vaulting over the rail of the catwalk and landing on the floor, breaking into a sprint straight at this new guy. As Zack ran I noticed him reach behind his back, and as he passed me I just barely saw as he whipped a pistol out of its holster. The new guy hadn't been expecting this and just stood there dumbly as Zack grabbed his neck in his free hand, slamming the CORE soldier against the door and shoving the pistol's barrel up into his chin. "So, _you're_ the one our oh-so-lovable leader," Zack rolled his eyes at that, "sent to keep watch over me."

"I didn't know I had been found out..." The guy croaked, struggling as Zack tightened his grip around the guy's throat and jammed the pistol into his chin harder.

"When you are forced to play role after role for sixteen years, it's easy to tell when you're being deceived yourself."

"You think killing me is going to make you look any better? That by doing this, Z—" Zack tightened his grip and the guy choked on the word he was about to say, "is going to trust you more if I turn up dead?"

"No. But it will make me feel better. You have no idea the stress I've been under lately."

"Well then, I have one last order to carry out. Perhaps it will add to that." The guy smirked.

"He's holding something!" I suddenly shouted, realizing that this spy, or whatever, had been reaching into his pocket and had pulled out what looked like some kind of flat remote.

Without even blinking Zack pulled the trigger on the pistol, the gun firing a bullet straight through the spy's chin and out the top of his head, blood spurting out of the two holes and splattering Zack and the door in the crimson liquid. But it was too late; at the very last second of his life the spy pressed the single button on the remote, it falling from his limp hand as a light on it flashed green.

"Ugh..." I moaned, averting my eyes from the gruesome sight of the dead man. True, I didn't mind the CORE soldier dying after they had kidnapped us without any apparent reason; however that didn't make the sight any less disgusting.

As I looked away I noticed that one of the displays in the room had lit up and was showing an outline of the AEWG, first filled in with red but shortly flashing and turning to green. Words began to scroll across the screen and more displays around that one flickered to life, showing various views of Petalburg city, as well as a small domed building that appeared to be on a hill in Petalburg Woods; most likely the base we were in at that very moment.

"Shit! Not now! Hell, I didn't even know it was ready! How many things are being kept from me! Zack exclaimed as he saw the displays turn on. Letting go of the spy's corpse, the body sliding down the door only to slump in a bloody pile at the base of it, Zack ran over to the computer console below the now active display and hurriedly punched something into the keyboard. "Damn it! I'm locked out!" Zack shouted, slamming his fist down onto the computer. "That remote must have been set to send a signal that activated a whole script I didn't know about; one that activates the AEWG and prevents anyone from turning it off here. Presumably, it's being controlled remotely now..."

I blinked a couple of times. It had all happened so fast. "Wait, so what happened? What's going on here?"

Rayne seemed just as confused as I was, however she noticed it before I did. "Shrike, look at the window."

Complying, I looked through the glass and gasped. The AEWG was coming to life, the domed ceiling above it splitting apart to reveal stars; the sky. With the sound of grinding gears the platform the AEWG sat on lurched and began to rise upwards, blocking out the brief glimpse we had had of the sky.

"Rayne, now would be a good time to finish this shell off while Zack is distracted. Do you wish for me to?"

Surprised, I realized that Matariel was still holding the Grovyle by its broken leg. Blinking a few times I realized that in the shock of what had happened I had forgotten that we had been in a battle, and that both ours and Zack's Pokémon were awaiting orders.

"Our battle is now over. I never really cared about the outcome anyways; I just needed something to stall for time and get this spy to reveal himself." Zack said, still tying to get into the computer that was apparently supposed to control the AEWG. "Kill my Pokémon if you want, they can be replaced."

"When you put it that way..." Rayne grumbled. "Matariel, lay off it. This is our chance to escape."

"If you insist." Matariel released the Grovyle's leg and ran over to Rayne, slicing through the bindings that held her hands together in one swift stroke of her head blade. The Grovyle, unable to think for itself, simply stood up and balanced itself on its good leg but did nothing more.

"I am afraid that you won't get very far with just these two Pokémon and no knowledge of the base." Zack said, waving his pistol lazily in our direction as Matariel ran over to me and split apart my bindings. "Besides, you may want to see what will happen next."

Finally able to move my hands again I rubbed my wrists before running over to Zethro and picking his shaking form up, keeping an eye on the still Mightyena even though I knew it wasn't able to act against me. "At least it'd be better doing something than being stuck in here forever as your prisoners." I growled, holding Zethro to my chest.

"Look at those screens there." Zack simply said, pointing to two screens. One displayed the domed building and the other Petalburg city. The domed building was splitting open and something seemed to be rising up out of it; I realized that the building was actually the top of the pit the AEWG was in. The AEWG slid up through the open ceiling and creaked as it suddenly stopped moving, bolts around the walls of the pit locking into place on the AEWG's base to keep it from falling back down. "Now, witness what CORE has planned." Zack said, an edge of surprising fear in his voice.

On the screen, the AEWG's dish began to glow bright yellow, a stream of the yellow energy snaking around the antenna and collecting itself at the tip of it. The tip of the antenna continued to brighten as the dish slowly adjusted itself, taking aim. I couldn't tell from these screens where it was aiming, but I had a feeling I knew where. Suddenly, a bright lance of yellow light shot from the tip of the antenna, piercing through the air and the trees not unlike the beam of light from a Pokéball. On the other screen Zack had pointed out, the beam of light appeared and speared right through one of Petalburg's taller buildings, bursting out the other side in a cloud of smoke and continuing deeper into the city.

Numbers and small icons began to appear on one of the screens; the numbers next to the icons increasing and new icons appearing as well; almost like it was an inventory of some sort. "That displays how many different life forms, and what kind, the AEWG has caught and transmitted back here. Those screens allow you to see part of our 'storage' facility, the holding room." Zack pointed to some screens that displayed what looked to be a huge room, pods of all different sizes hanging from racks on the walls. As I watched, the pods began to flash and forms appeared in them. Gasping I stumbled closer to the screen, supporting myself on a computer console to keep from collapsing. The screen I was watching changed and began to zoom in on some of the pods one at a time, giving me a close-up of who or what, there were also Pokémon among the humans, was in them.

The room was silent for the first minute as the AEWG worked. My eyes flicked back and forth between the screen displaying the room with the captives, and the screens displaying Petalburg. A beam of yellow light would shoot into the picture and stab into the heart of Petalburg for a few seconds before fading away, the AEWG adjusting itself to a different target before repeating the process again. During the time the light reached into the city the number of captives would steadily increase; after one minute had gone by the computer reported to have already accumulated over two-hundred captives through the AEWG.

"These numbers seem low... They must not have it up to full power yet..." Zack mumbled as he slammed his fist into the computer again, still unable to make any headway against it.

"AIRA!" I suddenly shouted. It had just been a very brief glimpse, but I knew I had seen her in the close-ups of the prisoners. Shaking I turned to Zack, "I don't care how you do it, but you WILL shut this thing off and free everyone who you have caught in it!" I boldly shouted. "If you don't..." I trailed off; I had nothing I could do against him. Zethro was not strong enough to threaten anyone, and Zack would no doubt be able to kill Matariel with his gun before she even got close.

"Threats will not be necessary; I wish to turn this off as much as you do. Also, this might be a good time to tell you that I will no longer make any efforts to hold you here. I will not stop you if you want to try to turn the AEWG off and escape. In fact, I can lend you some aid." Zack gave up at the computer and turned to face me, grabbing my shoulders. He talked and acted differently than he had when we first met a couple days ago, but behind his eyes I was shocked to genuinely see the one thing which I truly associated with Zack in my mind. Despite how creepy it was to me, behind his eyes I saw a soul who cared for me and had never intended for me to be put into danger.

"Listen, friend. That first day we met I was indeed trying to get you to a point where I could make you our prisoner. However, earlier today, it was my intention to _save_ you. I knew that my soldiers, without my orders, would break into your room and kidnap you. I was trying to get you to someplace else so you'd be _safe_. My whole life I have been deceiving people, so you will have to trust me with all your heart when I say now; I do not mean for any harm to come for you, nor did I ever after our first meeting."

I stared at Zack for a second before lowering my eyes. "Why should I trust that which I do not have proof for." _Aira would be proud of me..._

"If that is how you want to think; so be it." Zack let go of my shoulders and glanced at the screen keeping count of the captives. "There is only one way we can stop this now. One of you will have to go down to its central power core and disable it there, at its heart; once you do so the AEWG will stop functioning. If you want to free the people and Pokémon it captured one of you will also have to go to the holding room, get into the computer there, and deactivate the locks and stasis fields on the holding pods. I will evacuate the base so that the prisoners can get away freely once they awake in a couple hours after the stasis fields are deactivated."

"How do we know this isn't a trap?" I asked.

"Why would I go to all this trouble? I could kill you now if I wanted to. Here, you will be needing these to protect yourselves." Zack reached underneath one of the computer stations and pulled out two identical pistols. "They each only have seventeen rounds and I can't give you any extra magazines so please, try to shoot straight."

"Wait, a gun? But I've never used a gun before in my life!" I exclaimed as Zack pressed one of the guns into my right hand, me shifting Zethro's weight to my left arm. The gun was cold and heavy, and I felt decidedly un-trainer-like for holding it. "I don't _want_ to use a gun! We don't have to _kill_ anybody!"

"Just point it at someone's heart or head and pull the trigger. If you don't want to kill, you might as well get used to death; I can't tell my soldiers to just ignore you and I'm sure our leader has given them explicit orders to kill on sight if you escape. Except for... Well, that's not important." Zack handed the other gun to Rayne as he spoke.

"I will disable the AEWG." She said as she looked the gun over. For some reason it looked more natural in her hands than in my mine.

Still concerned about the gun I lowered my voice. "Fine by me... By the sounds of it, freeing the prisoners is going to involve a little bit of work with computers anyways, and that's what I'm good at." I looked down at Zethro, who I was still holding to my chest. Surprisingly he hadn't spoken during all of this. "Is something wrong?"

"N—No... Where's Jehiel?" Zethro squeaked. He was still shaking.

"He should be in this room right here." Zack had brought up a map of the base on one of the screens and was pointing to a room not far from one with an arrow over it; our current location. "This is the holding room." Zack then pointed to the largest room on the map, farther down the hallway from the room Jehiel was in. "And this is the elevator to the AEWG's power core." He moved his finger across the screen to the other side of the map. "Once you leave this room you are on your own. I will try to evacuate as soon as possible, but it may take me a while since I can't give an evacuation order without a reason. Once you have done your jobs you can escape the base through this exit; by that time all CORE personnel should be evacuated." At this last remark Zack pointed to the northern most room on the map. "Remember, I gave you those guns for a reason. Don't be afraid to kill if you need to."

I looked down at the gun in my hand and shivered. It just wasn't like me, I had never even _thought_ of killing someone before! "But, I don't think I can... You're a CORE commander, and Rayne, well, I can't speak for Rayne..." I glanced over at her and how she held the gun almost as if it was part of her arm, "but I'm just a normal Pokémon Trainer! I don't _kill_ people!"

"Friend, I understand what you are saying, however sometimes drastic measures must be taken. If you seriously do not want to kill, then avoid the need to." Zack said. "You can not stand around waiting forever; you'd be wise to leave now."

I lowered my head and looked at Zethro held in the crook of my left arm, and the gun held limply in my right. One a natural force that kills naturally if it needs to, but we as humans restrict; the other an unnatural force that kills unnaturally, but we use only as a weapon of death. I sighed and shook my head. "We simply can not let ourselves be seen. Zethro, start blowing out a Smokescreen when I tell you to. If you can keep it up until we reach the room Jehiel is in, and then again until we reach the holding room, we should be safe."

"What if I can't... What if I'm too weak..." Zethro quietly moaned.

"Don't think like that. You have to; it's our only way out of this." I could tell he was troubled. First he had lost against Aira's Houndour, Fury, now he had almost lost against Zack's Mightyena.

"Well then, if you wish to go unseen, I wish you luck." Zack nodded. He then held his arms towards me and took a step forwards, me matching his step by taking one backwards as I squawked. Laughing, Zack stopped his advance on me. "If you think embracing each other is so uncomfortable, I will not force you to. Go now, friend, and may the Gods guide you safely in this quest and your future journeys in the outside world."

**End of Chapter 8**


	9. Chapter 9

_WARNING! This is a pretty violent chapter; much more so than any of the previous ones. Violence, gore, and swearing are all here; so small children, stay away!_

**Chapter 9**

**

* * *

****Shrike**  
"Alright; ready, Zethro?" I asked the Cyndaquil I was holding in my arms as I stood in front of the sole door leading out of the control center of CORE's Petalburg City base. I tried to avert my eyes from the corpse of the spy Zack had killed, slouched at the base of the door, but it was hard since blood was splattered everywhere.

"I'll try..." Zethro moaned. I sighed; apparently he couldn't take losses very well.

"I'm counting on you to keep a smokescreen up so that we can't be seen. If we're seen, we'll be attacked. If we're attacked, well, we're probably dead..." I glanced down at the gun Zack had given me and which I had stuck through my belt. I had no intention of using it. _I can't kill someone... I just can't... Zethro isn't strong enough either, nor would I force him to kill... If we're attacked we'll have no way to fight back... We'll be dead..._

"Are you going to move already? If you're going to stand there all day, you may as well let us go first." Rayne said from behind me. She held the gun Zack had given her firmly in her right hand, as if she had held a gun like that several times before. Meanwhile her Absol, Matariel, stood next to her, the faintest trace of blade around her muzzle from where she had crushed the leg of Zack's Grovyle. They both looked as if they would have no qualms with killing.

"300 captives. The rate of capture is slowing down; the government of Petalburg City must have started evacuations by now." Zack called from where he was staring at the screens that displayed the status of the Arcana Energy Wave Generator.

"300 people... Including Aira..." I murmured to myself. "We can't let this go on. Alright! Zethro; use Smokescreen now!"

"Quil!" Zethro opened his mouth up and started spewing thick black smoke out. As soon as I determined I was hidden enough I ran at the door, it opening automatically as I approached. Jumping over the dead body I found myself in the hallway outside, squinting through the smoke to try to make out the faint outlines of the walls.

"Halt! What is this? This smoke, could it be from that Cyndaquil?" A voice called from somewhere near me.

"But Commander Reilyn said he would make sure the captives wouldn't escape!" Another voice responded.

"Wait, there's the girl! Stop her!" The first voice.

_Bang!_

I heard the sound of a body hitting the ground as blood started to spread out from the smoke to puddle around my feet.

"What was that? It sounded like—augh!"

"Sol!"

_Crunch!_

I heard another body fall limply to the ground, a limp arm sliding through the smoke and into my view.

"Shrike, get going! Don't just stand there!" Rayne suddenly said, appearing next to me. Her right hand was tightly closed around the grip of her gun with the butt of it resting in her left palm.

"Um, yeah." I nodded, realizing that at the sound of the CORE soldiers I had pressed myself against the hallway wall, frozen in fear. Zethro had stopped expelling his smokescreen and was panting, but I knew there was a distance to go still. "We're moving out again, Zethro. Get ready—"

"What's going on over here!" Yet another voice interjected.

"Go!" I shouted, taking off down the hall as Zethro began to blow out the smokescreen again.

_Around the first corner..._ I thought as I spun around the first corner I came to, hugging the right wall of the hallway. I was running fairly slowly so that the smoke Zethro breathed out would always cover us; I didn't want to run ahead of it and expose ourselves.

"What's this smoke coming from?" A voice next to me said as I passed by it. _Just ignore them... If you stay in this smoke and don't do anything to draw attention to yourself, you can make it..._ I thought.

_The fifth door... Jehiel will be in the fifth door on this side of the hallway... Or at least Zack said so..._ I counted the doors I passed by, the stretch between each door seeming like a mile.

_One._ I flew past a door, not thinking about what would happen if someone from the other side opened it up while I was passing by.

_Two._ Another door and several voices in the middle of the hallway passed me by. I ignored it all; I couldn't stop until I got Jehiel and freed everybody.

_Three._ I felt my legs beginning to tire, however I ignored it. If I had to suffer for the good of my Pokémon and hundreds of people, so be it.

_Four._ I was almost there, but at the same time I still had a long way to go until I could finally leave this godforsaken place. Zethro seemed to be thinking as I was; he looked tired from the constant Smokescreen, yet persisted with it.

"Five! This is it!" I whispered as I suddenly came upon the fifth door on the right side of the hallway. Pressing myself flat against the door I fumbled blindly around the side of it for the button that would open it. A small give underneath my fingers and a tiny click alerted me to its presence as the door slid upwards. Quickly I rushed into the room, being momentarily blinded by a dim flash of light as I flattened myself against the wall on the right side of the door, breathing heavily as the door shut.

Zethro had stopped expelling the smokescreen now that we were in the room, and so I had a mostly clear view of it. A handful of stainless steel medical tables were strewn about the center of the room with computers at the base of each one. Along the walls barred cages were lined, but there appeared to be no other fixtures of significance in the room. "Jehiel!" I yelled out as I saw the limp form of my Zigzagoon lying on one of the medical tables.

"Yes; he is yours, isn't he?"

Startled I looked around for the source of the voice, my eyes finally being drawn to the back left corner of the room, where a figure was emerging from the shadows. "Who are you? If you're part of CORE..."

"Hehehe... I think you may recognize me well enough... " The figure said as he stepped beneath one of the bright fluorescent lights that hung overhead, his blood red hair shining. I gasped and squeezed Zethro in my arms, hunching my body over him. _It can't be... Not him... Not here..._ "Long time no see; Shrike Flamestar. I think you are holding something that belongs to me."

"How... Why..." I stuttered.

"All questions will be answered in due time, but for now... I want that Cyndaquil, and if you don't hand him over..." The figure moved next to Jehiel, seeming almost as if he was gliding along the ground as he held a knife in his hand, "this Zigzagoon will die at my hands!"

"Zelos..." I growled as he laughed back at me.

* * *

**Rayne**  
I don't know why I had been so rash in ordering Matariel to kill Zack's "Pokémon," if you can call a soulless shell that. I don't know why I felt so comfortable holding the gun Zack had given me. I don't know why I had chosen to disable the AEWG. Truth be told, I knew little behind the reasons of any of my own actions as of late. 

_Let's just say the answer to everything is destiny._

_Yeah, that will work._

"Are you going to move already? If you're going to stand there all day, you may as well let us go first." I called to Shrike. _Might as well get this over with. Not like I know _why_ I'm doing it._

"300 captives. The rate of capture is slowing down; the government of Petalburg City must have started evacuations by now." Zack reported. _Hundreds of captives... But... How many of those are humans..._

I knew I should care about humans being captured by CORE, but I didn't. _Pokémon, on the other hand..._

_I will not let this go on. I will shut down the AEWG to keep CORE from capturing any more Pokémon._

_I suppose that's a better reason than destiny, at least._

"Alright! Zethro; use Smokescreen now!" Shrike and his Cyndaquil were finally moving. I gripped the gun Zack had given me hard.

_Seventeen rounds... Will it be enough? I will have to restrain myself... I have Matariel after all..._

Shrike rushed out the door in a cloud of black smoke. I approached the door afterwards, looking down at the spy Zack had shot. The dark red blood that was slowly running out of his head and pooling on the ground around the body gave an interesting contrast with the pure black uniform all CORE personnel wore.

"Matariel?" I whispered.

"Yes, I am here. Do not fear; I will always protect you." Matariel whispered back. I glanced down at her by my side.

_When did I meet her? I tell everyone it was three years ago, but... How am I supposed to know otherwise? Why can't I remember anything before then!_

"Wait, there's the girl! Stop her!" A voice called out. It was time.

I snapped my head upwards, peering through the smoke as if it wasn't even there. The form of a CORE soldier stepped through the fringes of the smoke, but I had already raised my gun up, steadying it with my left palm.

_Aim. Fire. Kill._

_Bang!_

A red hole suddenly appeared in the soldier's forehead as he gave one final, silent gasp. His knees buckling he dropped to the floor next to the spy Zack had shot, fresh blood pouring out of the hole in his head.

"What was that? It sounded like—augh!"

"Sol!" Matariel got the second soldier before I even looked up. When I did, her jaws were clamped around his neck as he silently flailed about, the gun he had been holding dropped in his haste.

_Crunch!_

Matariel's jaws crushed the soldier's neck, much as she had Zack's Grovyle's leg. The soldier fell still as blood oozed out of his neck and Matariel spat him out. Blood dripped from her fangs. As if thirsty she licked it off.

There were now three dead CORE soldiers lying around the base of the door. Two with holes in their heads; the other with a crushed neck, white bone fragments piercing out of it. _Sixteen rounds left._

Through the smoke I could just barely make out the form of Shrike, huddling against the wall right outside the door. He was staring down at the arm of the solider Matariel had killed, moving his feet to keep the puddle of blood that was slowly increasing in size from touching him. I deftly leapt over the bodies and blood, landing next to Shrike.

"Shrike, get going, don't just stand there!" I said. His eyes flicked down to the gun I held at the ready before he nodded at me.

"Um, yeah. We're moving out again, Zethro. Get ready—"

Shrike was interrupted by another voice drifting through the smoke towards us, "What's going on over here!"

"Go!" Shrike sped off, spinning around a corner, me losing him from sight. Leaving me alone.

_But I'm _not_ alone. Not as long as I have Matariel._

"Hey, you're a CORE soldier, correct?" I asked as the source of the voice stepped towards me through the smoke.

"You! You're one of the prisoners! Why isn't Commander Reilyn doing anything to stop you!" The solider asked, hefting a long rifle and pointing it in my direction.

"So you are..." I murmured, looking down at the dead bodies and the gun in my hand. _Aim. Fire. _"Kill..." I looked up, smirking.

_Bang!_

A fourth body fell to the ground, dead. Blood spurted out of his chest as his body twitched a couple times. _Fifteen._

"Matariel, follow me!" I said as I took off through the smoke, turning left around the corner at the intersection Shrike had turned at. We were no longer hidden from view.

"Halt, prisoner! If you do not we will be forced to kill you!" Four soldiers burst out of a door in my path.

"Say that last part again." I smirked.

"If you do not stop will be forced to—" _Aim. Fire._ "Kill—"

The soldier never finished his sentence, instead dropping dead with a steaming hole pierced through his skull. The other three soldiers' eyes flickered between me and the now dead soldier, his blood washing up around their shoes.

"Matariel, now!" I yelled.

"Sol!" Matariel came running out from behind me and leapt at one of the soldiers, raking her claws across his chest and tearing at his throat with her fangs. Blood splattered the hallway as Matariel tore his chest open and he collapsed to the ground, guts spilling out of his bloody chest as his neck gave a sharp crack.

_Aim. Fire. Kill!_

The third soldier dropped dead instantly, making awkward gargling noises as blood poured out of his chest.

The final soldier looked around nervously before taking a step back. "Hey, hey, we don't have to fight! Just lay down your gun and—"

"Aim. Fire. Kill." I whispered as I pulled the trigger yet again. My aim was off, however, and I accidentally hit the soldier in the eye instead of his forehead. Regardless, he collapsed to the ground clutching his eye and writhing in pain as blood seeped out around his hand. His movements quickly slowed, however. "Come on, let's get going." I said to Matariel. _Twelve._

**

* * *

**

**Shrike**  
"Yes... Zelos... I think I should know my own name." Zelos sneered as he stood next to the table Jehiel lay on, a shining knife held in his right hand.

"You'll _never_ take Zethro away from me!" I growled. Rage was building in me just at the sight of _him_. _You won't get away with what you did to Zethro this time!_

"Shrike, what's going on? Who are you talking to?" Zethro asked from within my arms. I squeezed him closer to my body.

"Oh? You won't hand him over? Even when I do _this_?" The knife Zelos held over Jehiel was rather plain, the blade a simple elongated triangle attached to a wooden handle. As I watched, that simple blade was plunged into Jehiel's side.

"J—J—Jeh..." I gasped, my eyes wide as I stared at Zelos and Jehiel, Zelos' knife plunged into the side of my Zigzagoon, thick blood seeping out from around the base of the knife. Smirking, Zelos drew the blade out of Jehiel, blood dripping off of it and onto the limp form of the raccoon-like Pokémon.

"Oh, he is not quite dead. Not yet. However, if you refuse to hand over the Cyndaquil..." Zelos wiped Jehiel's blood off the blade on the Zigzagoon's own fur, before raising it over him again; directly over where I somehow knew Jehiel's heart to be.

"J—Jehiel... No..." I stuttered. This couldn't be happening! It just simply couldn't!

"No? Well then, is that your final answer?" He didn't even give me time to respond before stabbing the blade back into Jehiel a second, final time. "Oh! Too late!"

"_NO!_" I screamed out, my heart skipping a beat as my eyes widened even farther and my pupils dilated. I collapsed and sank to the ground, sobbing. Zelos drew the blade out of Jehiel's corpse again as blood poured faster out of my dead Pokémon, falling over the side of the table like a waterfall as tears did the same from my eyes.

"Well. So long for that Pokémon. Now, hand over that Cyndaquil!" Zelos demanded, moving away from Jehiel's corpse and gliding over to me.

"You... Fucking... Bastard!" I yelled, looking up at him. "You asshole! You big mother fucking bitch!" I scrambled to my feet, dropping Zethro to the ground beneath me. Filled with rage I grabbed the pistol from my belt and raised it towards Zelos, who was still gliding towards me with a huge smirk on his face.

"Shrike? What are you doing..." Zethro whimpered.

"DIE!" I screamed.

_Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!  
Bang!_

I unloaded the entire magazine from my gun on Zelos, aiming straight for his chest. My rage was blinding me; all I cared about at that moment was killing Zelos after he went and killed Jehiel!

"Are you quite finished yet?"

Gasping I blinked, dropping my gun in shock; Zelos didn't have a single mark on him! "But, wha—how... AUGH!" I screamed and fell to the ground, clutching my head. _What is going on here!_

"Shrike! What were you shooting at! There's nothing there!"

Blinking I looked up, slowly getting to my feet. Zelos was nowhere to be seen. "Jehiel!" I shouted, running over to the table he lay on. There wasn't a drop of blood anywhere; he was completely unscathed. Crying I picked him up; he was still warm. He was alive.

"But... Zelos... He..." I pressed Jehiel to my chest, feeling the beat of his heart. He _was_ alive.

"There was never anyone else here, what are you talking about?" Zethro asked, sounding worried.

"Then... It was..."

"Hey, what's that? Over there, in the corner?" Zethro looked over at the darkest corner of the room; the one from which Zelos had emerged.

I spun around to face the corner, squinting my eyes. "Is that, a Hypno!"

Standing in the shadows was a rather human shaped Pokémon, although yellow in color and with a wreath of white fur around its neck. It was completely still, the pendulum they always carried slowing down from its rhythmic rocking motion to a stop. It hardly even appeared to be breathing.

"Then, that was all... An illusion... That's definitely one of CORE's Pokémon; it must have been ordered to hypnotize anyone who came through the door and doesn't belong to CORE..." I mumbled, piecing it all together. "None of it happened. Zelos was never here... He never killed Jehiel... I never unloaded my gun on him..."

"But you did on a blank wall." Zethro said. I looked up and noticed the seventeen bullet sized hole on the back wall of the room. I had wasted my entire ammo supply.

_Well... I never intended to use it anyways..._

"Master... Is that you?" Jehiel was beginning to stir in my arms, his eyes slowly opening. "Where am I?"

"CORE's Petalburg base, and we're not out of it yet..." I cried as I squeezed Jehiel tightly. _He _is_ alive..._

_

* * *

_

**Rayne**  
_Aim. Fire. Kill._

The soldier fell limply to the ground, just like all the others. It was getting so repetitive the closer we got to the elevator. _Five. Almost out..._

"Rayne, we're almost there. The elevator is right off this room up ahead." Matariel said as she trotted back to me. Blood stained her muzzle, paws, and dripped off her head blade. I was glad Shrike and I had been forced to split up. I noticed that she had a slight limp with her left foreleg, and gasped as I saw the wound on her shoulder. It looked as if she had been grazed by a bullet. Noticing me looking at her shoulder she chuckled. "Do not worry. I have had worse."

"Still, you won't be able to run as fast now." I said gravely. I patted my pocket; feeling a couple of hard, spherical shapes within. _Just in case... You should always be prepared..._

"Do not worry about me; care only for yourself. We are almost to the elevator now, and I am sure that Zack will manage to evacuate the base soon."

"What if he doesn't... Do you think we can fight our way out?" I murmured.

"Do not worry about that now; come, let's continue."

"Yeah, let's get going." I nodded.

I began to jog towards the elevator again. I wanted to run as fast as I could, but if I did so Matariel would fall behind. I couldn't abandon her. Shortly we came upon the room Matariel had mentioned and we turned through its open doorway. At the far side of the room another door was visible; however my eyes were drawn away from our goal. Fastened to one of the metal tables in the room a purple, cat like Pokémon lay; an Espeon. Two CORE scientists stood over it, holding some kind of lab equipment that they were about to attach to the Espeon. As I entered the room they looked up at me, surprised.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be in here! We are in the middle of a very important—is that, blood!" One of the scientists gasped as he noticed the blood that stained my shirt.

_A Pokémon... About to go through who knows what kind of hell... There is no question on what I must do..._

"Do you like living?" I asked.

"What kind of question is that? Leave now before I call someone to drag you out!"

I smirked. "We're already being followed." _Aim. Fire. Kill._

The scientist dropped to the floor as blood bubbled out of a hole on his head, and his partner looked down horrified.

"Ab—sol!" Matariel yelled, leaping forward and onto the second scientist's back. Savagely she bit onto his neck and jammed her claws into his back. The second scientist collapsed as blood spurted onto Matariel, soaking her fur red.

I ran over to the Espeon and quickly undid her bindings. She weakly turned her head to look at me, blinking.

"Who, are you..." She quietly whispered.

"My name is Rayne. I'm getting you out of here."

"Who am I... Where am I..."

"Do you not remember anything?"

"My name... I remember a name... Oriel..."

"Oriel... Angel of Destiny..." I frowned. _Wait, there are more Pokémon being named after angels than just Shrike's and mine?_ "Do you remember why they called you Oriel?"

"Rayne, more soldiers are coming this way. At least ten." Matariel said from where she stood by the open door.

"Shit..." I growled. "Listen, I will protect you from now on, understand?"

"Protect me? Why would you want to do that... I am weak... That's what they said... They said I am unworthy..." Oriel shivered and curled up, clamping her eyes shut.

"Because they are wrong." I reached into one of my pockets and pulled out a Pokéball. I knew it to be empty. _Always be prepared._ Expanding the Pokéball I held it over Oriel and pressed the button on it. The ball split open and a red light shot from it and enveloped the Espeon, drawing her back inside the ball and closing again.

"I thought you said you would never capture another Pokémon?" Matariel asked.

"Being with me is better than being with CORE..."

"Regardless, we will have no choice but to fight now. Here they come." As if to reinforce what Matariel had said a bullet shot through the door, only barely missing her.

Sliding Oriel's Pokéball back into my pocket I readied my gun. _At least ten soldiers... And I only have five shots left... Can Matariel really take on more than five on her own? If not... I will be forced to use _it_ rather I want to or not..._ Sighing I raised my gun up to the door as the first soldier entered the room.

_Aim. Fire. Kill._

**End of Chapter 9**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**

* * *

**

**Shrike**  
"Master, why are you crying?"

"Because... I thought..." I wiped my eyes with the back of my arm, sitting slumped against the wall in the room Jehiel had been kept in. I held him tightly in my lap, as I had done with Zethro many times before, but never Jehiel. _He's alive!_

"Shrike, shouldn't we be going?" Zethro asked from where he sat next to me.

"You're alive..." I stroked Jehiel's warm fur. _Zelos was never here! Jehiel never died!_

"Why wouldn't I be, master?"

"Shrike, come on!"

"Yes... Let's go..." I wiped my eyes one final time before picking Zethro up. I held both of my Pokémon in my arms, not wanting to let either go. Knowing that they were both still with me more than compensated for their weight. Jehiel was still confused but remained silent.

_Why would they leave only a Hypno in here? Why isn't there anyone else guarding Jehiel?_ I suddenly thought, but shrugged it away as I paused at the door again and Zethro started expelling a Smokescreen. I took a deep breath and rushed through the smoke, opening the door and running through it. _Turn right. All the way at the end of the hall._

Outside the door and back in the hallway I quickly turned right and barreled down the hallway as fast as I could while remaining hidden in the smoke.

"There it is again!"

"Quick; it must be the boy trying to hide himself! Don't let him escape!"

Voices swirled around me, yet I paid no heed to it all. My destination was the holding room, and now that I had no ammo left I couldn't kill anyone who got in my way even if I wanted to. Not like I did.

"I think I see him! Stop him at all costs!" A voice shouted as the noise made by several booted feet alerted me to the fact I was now being chased.

A bullet flew next to me, just barely missing. Jehiel snapped his head back, trying to see where it had come from. "Master! We are being shot at! Let me go so I can strike down this enemy! I will rip his heart out and feast on it for dinner!"

"No. I order you to stay quiet for now; we can't draw anymore attention to ourselves. Right now they're just guessing where we're at, however if we make to much noise they'll know exactly where we are." I hissed. Now was not the time to deal with a murderous Zigzagoon.

Jehiel fell silent and I pressed on. More shots flew by, but suddenly they halted. "Fools! Don't blindly shoot! We don't want to hit _it_! If one of you buffoons were to kill _it_ Lord Fira would be furious! Least I remind you of the last time someone screwed up?"

_Lord Fira... Must be CORE's leader..._ I thought as I ran.

"But Iruel is currently disabled; he can't do much without that pet of his." Another, younger sounding soldier said casually. A loud smack followed.

"Do you seriously think Iruel is his only method of dealing with people like you who can't take their orders seriously! You may be green, but that's still no excuse for not even knowing what your own leader can do!"

_Iruel!_ I almost stopped at the name. _Angel of Terror!_ I looked down at Jehiel in my arms, also thinking about Matariel at the same time. _It must just be a coincidence..._

"Look, I'll be sure not to hit _it_, okay?" A bullet suddenly whizzed by my shoulder, almost grazing it and passing dangerously close to Zethro's head.

"IDIOT! CORE has no place for soldiers who so blatantly disregard their orders! As your squad leader I have been given the authority to deal with the likes of you as I wish, and _this_ is how I do things around here!" Another shot rang through the air, but this time no bullet passed me. I had a feeling I knew what had happened, and the lack of the younger sounding soldier talking was more than enough confirmation. "The rest of you lot, don't let the boy escape!"

_Almost there. Just up ahead!_ Zethro started coughing and the smoke began to thin; he was pressing himself far harder than he should. "Just hold on a little longer." I whispered to him. In response he whimpered back. The sound of boots thumping on the ground behind me was growing closer all the while.

Suddenly, a door appeared directly in front of me through the smoke. Unable to slow myself in time I ran straight into it, the Pokémon in my arms squealing as they were squeezed between me and the door, and slumped to the ground as it slid upwards; I apparently had run into the button that opened the door. Falling through the opening door I rolled into the new room, which I knew would be the holding room.

"Hurry! They've entered the holding room!" A voice called from behind me. Gritting my teeth I stood up and slammed my fist into the control panel that sat next to the door on the inside, sparks flying around my fist as I smashed it. With the power to the door cut off it dropped closed, cutting the rapidly advancing soldiers off from us.

"Please tell me that's the last we'll see of them..." I sighed as I turned around to face the room we had entered.

It looked just as we had seen on the displays back in the control center. I currently stood on a platform overlooking the huge cylindrical room, spiral stairs leading up and down with catwalks extending out along the perimeter of the room at regular intervals. I walked over to the edge of the platform and looked around the room; a large device with several cables and pipes running off of it hang from the middle of the ceiling. Those cables and pipes led to the curved walls on which they were attached to numerous pill-shaped pods between the catwalks; one cable, a thick pipe, and a thin rail connecting to each pod and forming a maze in the open air of the room. From what I could see at least a quarter of all the pods were occupied by various shapes, both human and Pokémon, but as I watched in awe yet more of the pods flashed with either red or green light; a Pokémon appearing in the pods that flashed red and a human in the ones that flashed green.

"How could... How could anyone ever think of anything like this!" I gasped. Hundreds of people, all here in captivity; it was almost surreal. "We've got to get them all out!"

"Zack said you'd have to get into the computer here; how do you think you're going to do that?" Zethro asked as I noticed the computer terminal sitting in the corner of the platform we were on.

I walked over to the computer and cautiously tapped a few buttons on it. The screen flickered to life and I examined it. "Hah!" I laughed, grinning. "They must never have expected anyone to ever try to do this and got lazy! This looks no harder than the school's network! I can crack it no sweat!"

"Crack it? But a machine does not have a skull; how are we supposed to crack its head open and spill its brains out if it does not have a skull in the first place?" Jehiel asked. I was starting to learn to ignore him.

"It's another way to say 'hack it.'" I said as I began to get to work on the computer.

"Ah, so you're going to take a big axe and chop the computer up into pieces? I suppose that makes sense and it sounds like it would work."

Grunting I focused entirely on the computer. _I _will_ free all these people! I will!_

_

* * *

_

**Zack**  
_Shrike... Be safe... Be careful... You have no idea what you're up against now, and what you will be against in the future..._

"Commander Reilyn! Is something concerning you?"

I looked up and found my Executive Officer standing in front of me. Shaking my head I lounged back in my throne-like chair, which had been retracted under the floor earlier. _This chair is the only decent part of this job... Not like I ever _wanted_ to have to do this. I had no choice once I found out what _he_ plans to do._ "I am fine. I was only concerned over the escape of our prisoners. I do not know how I didn't see their escape coming; the boy ordered his Cyndaquil to use Smokescreen, and in the confusion following they stole two guns and escaped."

"If you think you can not handle this, I will take over command of the base for now."

"No, no. I am fine. I am only wishing you would have informed me earlier that headquarters was doing _this_ tonight." I pointed behind me at the AEWG's pit, currently vacant as the AEWG itself was lifted into its firing position.

"I apologize, sir. We only learned of it a few hours ago, right before we were sent out to capture the boy and girl. We didn't have time to tell you."

_More like you were told not to by a spy who ranked higher than me..._ "Where are they now? Do you know?"

"The girl and her Absol appear to be holding off our advance at DSP room 4, at the entrance to one of the basement elevators. Oddly enough, one close by the AEWG's power core; if you ask me it appears she's planning to shut the AEWG down. The boy, his Cyndaquil, and the Zigzagoon he managed to retrieve is in the AEWG's holding room and has destroyed the door's control system, so we can't get it open for now."

I furrowed my brow in thought at what Shrike had done before retrieving Jehiel. _Shrike... What were you doing back there... You unloaded your entire gun on empty air..._

"WARNING! WARNING! HACKING ATTEMPT IN AEWG HOLDING ROOM! INTRUDER HAS BROKEN THROUGH FIVE OUT OF TWENTY DEFENSE LAYERS!"

I almost jumped at the voice as it blared through the control center. Technicians and computer operators scrambled at their stations, hurriedly trying to repel the attacks. _Shrike... I hope you know what you're doing..._

"Commander Reilyn! The boy is attempting to gain access to the holding pods' control system!"

"Defense layer six broken! No! He's passed seven already as well!"

"Change defense layer eight to a 512 byte style X circular cipher!"

"Too late! Layer eight broken through!"

"Commander, he is to fast! At this rate he'll be in within just two minutes!"

_So, he was right about you after all..._ "We are unable to get our forces into that room, correct?" I asked.

"No, the door won't open. We're bringing equipment up now to break through it."

"Defense layers nine and ten passed! This is unreal!"

"Commander, what should we do!"

I remained silent.

"He's passed eleven!"

"Commander!"

_You must succeed in this Shrike. This is only the first step, but now that I know what he intends..._

"Twelve has been broken through!"

"Commander! If you don't say something I will be forced to take command from you!" My Executive Office yelled.

I looked up at him and smiled "What is there to say? I don't know how to keep him from getting into these computers. If you want to stop him so bad, get through that door."

_Be swift, Shrike..._

_

* * *

_

**Rayne**  
_Aim! Fire! Kill!_

Another soldier toppled to the ground. I no longer cared about anything but getting to the power core alive. _One shot left!_

"Rayne! This is very bad! We can't hold them off much longer!" Matariel shouted, limping back to my side. Her left foreleg had been shot twice more, both times direct hits, and she was having trouble walking on it; but even as blood oozed from the bullet holes on her disabled leg she ignored them. I gritted my teeth and backed myself against the elevator door, slamming my fist into the call button. I heard the electrical rails inside the elevator shaft hum with electricity, however it suddenly stopped. _Those bastards! They cut off power to the elevator! I'm going to have to... There's no other choice..._

One of the soldiers noticed my look of consternation and laughed. "What? You think Commander Reilyn isn't trying to stop you from getting to the power core? I _would_ tell you to give up now and we would let you live, but you and your Absol have killed far too many of us. Surrender is no longer an option for you."

"It's still an option to all of you, though. Well, except for you." _Aim! Fire! Kill!_

My final shot pierced squarely through the head of the soldier who had spoken to me. He dropped to the ground dead just like all the others as I let the now useless gun fall from my hands. "Matariel, I have no choice. Return." I pulled her Pokéball out of my pocket and expanded it, a beam of red light shooting from the tip and sucking my surprised looking Absol back in. She had told me never to do this.

_But I must._

"I'll give you one last chance. Either escape now, or you will all die." I said as I spread my feet apart and braced myself. Following that I squeezed the index and middle fingers of my right hand together, my thumb held at a nearly right angle to them and my ring and pinkie flayed out to the side; giving my right hand a sort of gun like appearance. I held my right hand in front of my chest, my index and middle fingers pointing upwards at the ceiling. "Ten."

"Hmm? What do you think you're going to do? Poke us to death!" One of the soldiers laughed.

"Nine." I closed my eyes.

"Hey, let's see what she's going to do! Maybe it will give us a good laugh before we kill her!"

"Eight." I cupped my left hand over the upraised index and middle finger of my right. _Empty your mind._

"Maybe she's praying to the Gods to forgive all the deaths she's caused! Not like it will do her much good!"

"Seven." Underneath my cupped hand a light began to glow._ Focus all your energy to a single point._

"Ah, maybe this is some kind of magic trick!"

"Six." _Picture the enemy in your head._

The soldiers voices lowered to murmurs as the light underneath my cupped hand grew brighter.

"Five." _Aim at their essence._

"Four." _Keep the flow of energy steady._

"Three." I opened my eyes back up again, glowering at the soldiers who now stood in curious silence because of the glow of light underneath my cupped hand.

"Two." _Aim._

"One." I pulled my left hand away and held my gun like right hand pointed at the soldiers. Bright light emanated from the tips of my index and middle fingers; bright enough to momentarily blind you if you stared at it. _Fire._

"And kill." I whispered.

A huge beam of energy, at least a meter in diameter, suddenly shot forward from my fingers, piercing through the middle of the room as the resulting shock and heat waves filled the rest. I winced and squinted, bending my knees to keep from being blow backwards by the force. Nothing could have withstood even a second of being in the path of that blast, anything it came in contact with being instantly incinerated; however I let it continue for at least five seconds as I knew that trying to cut it off immediately would harm me more than if I let it continue. Before long the yellowish beam, Shrike would have thought it looked not that different from a Hyper Beam attack, faded away and left behind nothing but melted computers and ashes where all the soldiers had once stood.

I collapsed to my knees and coughed, clutching my chest in pain. _Not... Done... Yet..._

_

* * *

_

**Zack**  
"WARNING! IMMENSE ENERGY SOURCE DETECTED IN DSP ROOM 4! ALL CONNECTIONS LOST!"

Sirens blared and red error messages began to flash over screens all around the room as one whole wall of closed circuit camera displays went blank.

"What's going on!" I shouted. _Rayne... Did she just..._

"We don't know! Everything in that whole sector that was routed through DSP room 4 is going offline!"

"Get the sensors and cameras in that room back on NOW!" I shouted.

"We can't! They aren't there anymore! They've been destroyed!"

"If anyone cares, the boy has broken through defense layer nineteen in the holding room!"

"What! But how... All of this at once..." I growled, acting like I cared. _Ahah! Even he doesn't know she can it to this degree!_

"Wait! There's still one sensor working! Rerouting it for a direct feed to this room now!"

On a screen numbers began to flash before a line graph appeared on it, the line shooting vertically out the top of it. "This is the energy signature from whatever that was. It's off the chart!"

"I've never seen anything so powerful! We're not getting any life readings at all from the squads who were after her; they've all been wiped out!"

_Thank you, Rayne... Now's my chance..._

"That's it!" I yelled, standing up. "This has gotten far too risky and costly, the girl and that Absol of hers have killed more than twenty of us by themselves, and the boy will have all our prisoners free in mere seconds! As your Commanding Officer I order a complete evacuation of this base!"

"But, sir—" My Executive Officer pleaded.

"Now! Or I will have you executed for treason!" I threatened. _Like I'm one to be tossing that word around..._

"Yes sir... I will send out the order now..." My Executive Officer ran over to a computer and started punching access codes into it which only he and I knew.

"ATTENTION ALL CORE PERSONNEL! COMMANDER REILYN HAS ISSUED A FULL EVACUATION OF THIS BASE! I REPEAT; COMMANDER REILYN HAS ISSUED A FULL EVACUATION OF PETALBURG BASE!"

All of the CORE personnel in the control center rushed through the door and into the hallway, running towards the garage to escape. I stayed behind, even letting my Executive Officer leave without me.

"So; you can wield itthat well, eh Rayne? I'm sure the oh-so-great Lord Fira will love to know the extent to which your power reaches; but I think I'll conveniently forget about it. Don't want to upset him by telling him there may be someone better than he is... Hopefully no one else here will recognize what you just did..." I smirked to myself before walking out the doors, heading towards my private garage and transport.

_Until we meet again... Until we meet again..._

_

* * *

_

**Shrike**  
"Got it!" I shouted as I jammed my index finger down on the enter key of the computer terminal. "I'm in! Haha! They tried to stop me, but I didn't let that get in my way!"

"What are you so excited about?" Zethro asked.

"I've gotten through to the holding pod control system! Now it's a simple matter of unlocking them all and disabling those stasis fields Zack mentioned!" _And, one more thing..._

Zethro tried to get onto the computer terminal to see what I was doing, however he was too small to jump all the way up to it. Jehiel stood next to me and watched the door, in case somehow the CORE soldiers got through.

"ATTENTION ALL CORE PERSONNEL! COMMANDER REILYN HAS ISSUED A FULL EVACUATION OF THIS BASE! I REPEAT; COMMANDER REILYN HAS ISSUED A FULL EVACUATION OF PETALBURG BASE!"

"Well, I guess Zack managed to evacuate after all. It looks like we're almost home free." I smiled as I entered two commands into the computer terminal.

All around the room clicks rang out from the holding pods as they were unlocked and the clear plastic doors on the front of them sagged down slightly, able to be pushed open from the inside whenever their occupants woke up now that the stasis field was also deactivated. People and Pokémon continued to appear in the pods; however they looked to be in a much less deep sleep than the others who were already captured.

"Can we leave now?" Zethro asked.

"Almost. We need to wait for Rayne to shut off the power core, and I have one final thing I need to do here..." I typed a couple more commands into the computer, examining the screen before typing one more in. Standing back I looked around the room as across from me and down a few levels one of the pods suddenly lurched forward, gliding along a thin rail up to the platform I was on; inside stood a girl with long, light blue hair.

"Wha—what happened..." Aira moaned as she began to wake up at the disturbance as I pulled the clear door open. "Shrike? Where am I?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you it all later. For now, we have to get out of here."

* * *

**Rayne**  
Panting I pulled myself off the ground. There was a very good reason Matariel warned me never to do... Whatever it was I had just done. _Much I don't know... About myself..._

I could feel that I had very little energy left, most of what I had having been used during my attack. Nevertheless, I knew I had to press on. _Still not out..._

Holding my right arm to my chest I flexed my numb fingers for a moment before turning to the elevator door. Huffing I wedged my fingers into the crack between the doors and slowly pried them apart, which was fortunately much easier than I had been expecting. Nevertheless my arms burned with the strain, but determination towards my goal flared in my eyes. When the door had finally been opened just enough for me to slip through I looked through the gap and down the dark elevator shaft lined with grooved tracks. From what I could see the drop was far too long for me to fall down, however I noticed a maintenance ladder running down the wall below the door. Squeezing through the gap I dropped onto the ladder, breathing heavily as I began my descent into the darkness of the elevator shaft, an unintelligible sound blaring out from elsewhere in the base.

After what seemed like forever my feet finally touched something solid, the elevator itself. Letting go of the ladder I crouched on top of the elevator and fumbled about for the maintenance hatch until my hand finally found a shallow well and brushed a handle inside it. Grabbing the handle I twisted it, something clicking beneath me as the maintenance hatch swung downwards. Unfortunately, I was right on top of the hatch and abruptly fell through it with a yelp, crashing onto the floor of the elevator's inside.

Praying that the elevator was still at basement level I sat for a moment, regaining my breath. Standing up, swaying slightly, I pried open the elevator door as I had at the top of the shaft, releasing both a sigh of relief and a moan as I found a second door behind that one. Bending down and grabbing my bent legs for a moment I waited until I regained what had to be my fourth wind by now. The realization that as I rested countless people were still being abducted by CORE brought me back to awareness and I forced myself to pry open this last door, hoping that I would still have enough energy left to complete my mission and get out of here. _I will have to do it again... To destroy this power core... But I must not let myself falter. No, I am stronger than that._

As the final door opened at my hands I winced at the harsh glare of light in the basement corridor. Stumbling out of the elevator I shielded my eyes from the light with my left hand, supporting myself against the right wall with my other. Weakly I stumbled down the corridor. _Must not fail... I must not... If I do..._

I passed multiple branches that led off into other parts of the basement, but I knew precisely where my destination was; the power core would be directly underneath the AEWG. Suddenly I came upon a large door and I knew I had made it, wheezing as I found the button to open the door and pressed it, there fortunately not being any kind of lock. _Never expected anyone... To get this far..._

Inside the power core's chamber I found myself staring at a large spherical apparatus covered in various lights, wires extending from its top and reaching towards the dark ceiling far above. Not much lined the walls of the room except a handful of computers, but I ignored them. Limping over to the power core I pressed my hands against its smooth surface. I could feel the tiny vibrations from inside it, and prayed that this would work.

Closing my eyes I strained every single part of me, pushing whatever leftover energy I had into my palms. Yellow sparks began to fly out from between my palms and the power core as I gritted my teeth. _Almost... There..._

Finally I gasped as my eyes snapped open, a scream escaping my mouth as huge sparks sprayed out from between my palms and the power core, arcing along its surface as sirens went off around the room and I slumped to the ground. Falling into a fit of coughs a smile managed to spread across my lips as all the lights across the surface of the power core turned dark, tiny explosions ringing out form inside it as the excessive amount of electricity I had generated overloaded it. I tried to move, but realized that I could hardly move even my hands. As my vision blurred and began to fade I slid my fingers into my pocket, sliding out a Pokéball. Stabbing the button on it the last thing I saw was a flash of red light turning into white fur that quickly ran out of my sight as the world turned black around me.

* * *

**Shrike**  
Aira weakly collapsed to the ground, me bending down and helped her get back up to her feet, her right arm wrapped around my shoulders. Drowsily she looked around the room we were in, and at all the people and Pokémon held in the numerous pods. "What is this place..." 

"Don't worry, they'll be waking up." I was about to turn to lead Aira out of the room when I realized that if I left now everyone who woke up after we left would have no idea what to do. Hesitantly I looked around, biting my lip. I didn't want to stay in that base any longer than I had to; but with several hundred people it may take a while for them all to wake up and for me to lead them out of the base. As Aira slumped on my shoulder, looking as if she could fall back asleep, my eyes were drawn to Zethro and Jehiel who lay curled up against the wall near the door to the room, looking as if they were also falling asleep. Tapping my chin I suddenly thought of something.

Unwrapping Aira's arm from my shoulders I propped her up against the wall next to my Pokémon. Her eyes tiredly followed my actions; however she made little movement of her own. Walking back over to the computer I looked it over some until I found what appeared to be a microphone. Testing out a few commands I nodded. I could do it. Positioning myself in front of the microphone I began to record my voice, speaking into it: "I am sure you all are wondering what is going on. I can not explain that, however I can help get you all out of here. Make your way to the platform halfway up the wall in this room; there you will find a door. Go through the door and proceed to follow the arrows on the walls until you reach the exit. From there you are free to do what you want; rather it be returning to Petalburg City or going elsewhere."

I stopped the voice recording and messed around with the file I had made some, messing up my voice so it no longer sounded like me. Finished with that I set the file to be automatically broadcasted throughout the holding room on an infinite loop in fifteen minutes; hopefully no one would wake up before then. Returning to Aira and my Pokémon I looked over the control panel I had smashed. Delicately I pulled away the broken front plate, noting the connections of the wires on the back of it. Pulling a few of the wires free of the panel I bit my tongue and silently prayed as I twisted a pair of the wires together.

The door smoothly slid upwards into its housing and I let out a breath, relieved that the control panel hadn't been wired oddly; in which case it very well might have exploded. With our way out opened again I gently broke a shard of the shattered control panel's face off of it. It was only plastic; however it seemed suitably hard and sharp enough. To test it out I walked out into the hallway and scratched a decent sized arrow pointing down the corridor on the metal wall. _It will do._

Walking back into the holding room I suddenly realized that the large machine in the center of it all seemed to have stopped working and that no new people were appearing in the pods. _Rayne must have shut it down by now..._ Smiling I turned to Aira and my two Pokémon, slumped against the wall and fast asleep. I sighed and gently shook Aira awake, whispering to her that it was time to be leaving. Nodding she managed to climb to her feet, surprisingly steadily.

"I feel like I should be weak and tired, but I'm quickly getting stronger again." Aira explained as I picked up Jehiel and handed him to her, then picking up Zethro and holding him myself.

Giving the computer one final check to make sure my automated message would play correctly Aira and I left the holding room for the final time. I led her down the halls I remembered seeing on the map Zack had shown us as being the quickest route to the exit, pausing to scratch an arrow in the wall every once in a while.

"You're quite resourceful, aren't you?" Aira observed as I explained what I was doing to her.

"Well, I can't wait around for every single one of those people to wake up, but then again I can't just leave them on their own either." I shrugged.

We were almost at the exit to the base when I suddenly heard a sound from behind us. Whirling around, the shard of plastic raised in my hand as if it were some kind of weapon, a puzzled look grew on my face as I saw that an Absol had caught up to us.

"Shrike; Rayne desperately needs assistance. She has blacked out from destroying the power core and is stuck in the basement. Unless you do something she may very well die down there." Matariel panted.

As Aira looked between Matariel and me, puzzled, I bit my tongue again. "Aira, take Zethro and Jehiel with you back to Petalburg. Rayne needs help, and I don't want to be burdened down."

Aira briefly frowned before shaking her head and placing a hand on my shoulder. "Considering all that's apparently been going on, now's not the time to doubt the existence of this translator, I suppose. However, I won't go back to Petalburg without you; I'll wait here until you return." 

I nodded and handed Zethro to her. Tapping Jehiel a few times I managed to wake him up enough so that he could hear my command to stay with Aira and not harm her as she was an ally of ours. He mumbled an acknowledgement at this before falling back asleep. Turning back to Matariel I set off into a jog as I followed her back through the base. I noticed that she had a limp, but was surprisingly fast despite it.

"You may want to keep your eye focused straight ahead along here." Matariel said as we turned a corner I recognized as being the one right outside the control room. Walking a little farther down the hallway I gasped as I realized why.

Blood was smeared all over the walls and pooled on the ground around limp corpses that were strewn everywhere. Some of them had holes through their heads or chests, while others had broken necks and chests that had been completely ripped open, their guts and other innards exposed and scattered about them. Horrified I looked down at Matariel again, only now noticing the faint red smears around her claws and muzzle. "Did you two do _all_ of this?"

"Yes. I do not have regrets, nor do I suspect Rayne does."

"But... Just how many people are here... How many people did you murder... People who may even have had families and lives not so different from our own..."

"They were the ones who kidnapped us. They were the ones who threatened to attack us when we escaped. They are our enemies. Human emotion is only a handicap in battle."

Silently I followed Matariel the rest of the way through that hallway of death, my eyes staring fixedly ahead. _Yes, they are enemies, but to actually _kill_ them? And without so much of a hint of remorse? Who exactly _is_ Rayne? What happened to her in the past?_

"Here is the elevator shaft. I jumped between the walls to get up it, but I do not know how you will carry Rayne up since you will be forced to take the ladder."

I blinked in surprise and found that Matariel had led me into what looked like some sort of ruined laboratory, literally melted computer equipment and peculiar ash strewn all over the place, and was standing next to a door at the far end of the room. Peering through a small gap between the doors I found myself staring down into the elevator shaft and grimaced. "I had thought that I'd just bring her up in the elevator itself." I said as I pushed the call button next to the door. Nothing happened.

"Then you will have to turn the power back on. CORE managed to cut it off from the elevator before they evacuated."

I sighed. More work to do; all because of CORE. _What do they want with us; and why are they acting so much like a military now? We've done nothing to them, yet they still kidnapped us anyways. Then they go and try to both destroy and abduct everyone from Petalburg at the same time. Who is this "Lord Fira" that is now controlling them, and what does he want? They could tell us that, at least..._

**End of Chapter 10**_  
_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**

* * *

**

**Rayne**

_...Who am I?_

_"Your name is Rayne, child."_

_Rayne... But, it's just a name... Who _am_ I?_

_"You are Rayne Jarxis. Keeper of the Angel of Rain, Matariel; and now also Keeper of the Angel of Destiny, Oriel."_

_The Keeper of Angels... I thought they were just names..._

_"Everything has a purpose; even names. What that purpose is will be revealed in time."_

_...Still, knowing who I am does not tell me who I was..._

_"You were many things, child. You were meant to be many more things, but the course of time saw fit to pass you by for another and you lost the quest you were meant to carry."_

_"Go on, child. Do not fear me."_

_This all has to do with my past, doesn't it? That is the key to all that has been happening._

_"Perhaps. But, not quite. Your past was important, but some things have been set in time The Path of Light has been ever going for millennia, and will continue for millennia more unless either Flame conquers over the other."_

_And if that happens?_

_"No one can say."_

_...Who are _you

_"I am one who you once lost, one who you once gained, and one who will forever protect you, child."_

_Then, does that mean you are—_

"Hey, Shrike, something's happening to her; her heart rate seems to be getting closer to normal!"

Faintly I heard footsteps from somewhere around me, getting closer.

"Rayne! Rayne! Wake up! Come on!"

"Don't force her, if she is still too weak then let her rest some more."

"She's been sleeping for one whole week! I hardly call this rest anymore!"

The voices, where did they come from? All I could see was endless blackness.

Suddenly, however, I saw more. Before my mind's eye flashed an image of something I could just barely make out to be some kind of village surrounded by dense trees. I could see no people, nor could I make out specific details, but I had a feeling I had seen that place somewhere before. Just as quickly that image disappeared, leaving me in a sea of black once again.

_"It is time for me to leave, child. Remember this, I will forever be with you, yet I will rarely be able to communicate with you as I am now. Farewell, my beloved Rayne..."_

_

* * *

_**Shrike**

Aggravated I paced about in the hospital room Rayne was being held in, my hands clasped behind my back. _She's been sleeping for a week! A week! Why won't she wake up yet!_ "God damn it!" I yelled, slamming my fist down onto a table with a planter on top of it, almost hitting my sleeping Cyndaquil, Zethro, who lay on top of it. "This is all my fault! If only I had thought about going to meet up with Rayne as soon as we left the holding room, or if I had been a little faster in restoring the power to the elevator, she may not have gotten in this condition!"

A girl with long blue hair stood up from the chair she sat in and walked over to me, pulling her hand back and smacking me across the face. "Stop blaming yourself. There was nothing you could have done. Just look at that heart monitor, she's getting better, just let her take her time."

Sighing I slumped into a chair and held my head in my right hand, ignoring my stinging cheek. _This shouldn't be happening... This was just supposed to be a normal Pokémon journey; why us?_

Despite fully expecting the reality of my Pokémon journey to be far different than what all the shows and cartoons on TV portrayed a trainer's life as being, I had never expected to be kidnapped by anyone, nor did I ever think that I would almost be killed as I tried to rescue all the prisoners that had been caught by a strange weapon that "captured" organic life while destroying everything else. The fact that it _had_ all happened was almost unthinkable, and if it wasn't for the fact that Rayne was being held in the hospital due to the mysterious nature of her blacking out when she somehow managed to deactivate the AEWG's power core, I don't think I would have believe it had happened myself.

Plus, there was also the fact that the entire half of Petalburg City that faced the now abandoned CORE base was completely in ruins. The few buildings that still stood were riddled with holes that made them resemble Swiss cheese, but most of them had collapsed leaving the ground covered in a mess of twisted and partially melted steel girders and siding. Fortunately the Pokémon Center Rayne and I were staying in, along with Petalburg's primary hospital, were located on the side of the city that remained largely undamaged. Aira hadn't been so lucky, though; the Pokémon Gym and the Pokémon Academy's main building were completely obliterated, barely any hints of their existence remaining. Fortunately, the dormitories were still mostly intact and she had been able to retrieve her possessions; including her Houndour, Fury.

"Shrike?"

Startled, I looked around for the voice; quickly scrambling to my feet and rushing over to Rayne's bedside as I realized she had opened her eyes and was the one who had spoken. "Rayne! You're awake! How do you feel? If you still need rest, take it easy."

"I thought you said she had had enough rest?" Aira remarked as she walked over next to me.

"Where's Matariel?" Rayne asked, her voice quiet.

"By your side; as always," the female Absol on the other side of the bed from me said. She had some faint scars visible through her fur, but other than that there was no sign of the wounds she had suffered a week ago. She has been falling asleep, but at the sound of Rayne's voice had stood up without any hint of tiredness. Next to her sat another Pokémon, an Espeon called Oriel that Matariel had told us Rayne had saved while in the CORE base. She sat quietly watching everything, but didn't make a sound.

Rayne turned her head around to look at Matariel and Oriel for a moment, Matariel and her staring at each other. I had a feeling something passed between them, but I didn't know what. At last Rayne nodded, before turning back to me, "This is a hospital, isn't it? I never have liked them..."

"You've been getting better treatment here than you would elsewhere," I said.

"Perhaps so, but are all these really necessary?" To my surprise Rayne sat up in the bed, the blanket that had covered her dropping down to expose the plain gown she wore, wires snaking beneath it and up her chest. Frowning at the wires, she lifted the gown up and started pulling the heart monitor leads off her bare chest.

"Hey, wait, those are there for—" I exclaimed as I quickly looked away; I could almost feel Aira about to slap me if I looked at Rayne's bare chest any longer.

"Oh, don't make a big fuss; I feel fine." Rayne said as the heart rate monitor machine next to her bed suddenly emitted a loud, drawn out beep.

"But your heat rate and other vital signs were really low..."

"They're fine now. Come on, let's get out of here." Rayne jumped out of the bed and looked around the room; other than the white hospital gown she wore and her messed up hair she looked completely normal and lively again.

Before I could say anything more the door to the room burst open and a man in a white lab coat rushed in, trailed by two female nurses whose short hair was hidden underneath white caps on their heads. They stopped when they saw Rayne standing there, perfectly alive. "Hey, you're not ready to get out of bed yet; who removed your heart monitor leads?" The doctor said, looking at Aira and me as we shook our heads.

"She did," we both said at the same time.

"I don't see why they were necessary. Do I look like I belong in this place?" Rayne shrugged, "While you're here, can you tell me where my clothes are?"

Muttering something about not being paid enough the doctor pointed to a closet and turned away, walking back out the door and into the hallway with the nurses.

* * *

Eventually the three of us along with Matariel and Zethro, Rayne had recalled Oriel back into her Pokéball, managed to get out of the hospital despite Rayne being stopped at what seemed like every turn by some nurse or doctor who insisted she still needed to stay. Rayne managed to push her way past all of them though, and eventually they seemed to accept her as a lost cause. Finally we had managed our way though the hospital's main doors and out onto the moonlit streets of Petalburg City. I held the sleeping Zethro in my arms and led the way towards the Pokémon Center as Aira, Rayne, and Matariel followed behind. 

"So, Rayne; are you sure you feel fine?" I asked.

"Yes, I do," Rayne said as she sniffed the air in disgust, the smell of smoke still heavy from the AEWG's attack, "And I want to be leaving this city soon."

"To where?"

"Wherever you want; just not here."

"I suppose Dewford then; hopefully there's still some ferries heading out there after what happened."

"Speaking of that, nobody knows that we—" Rayne began.

"We what? We were never anywhere near that base, if that's what you're thinking. And I have no idea how all of those prisoners got free, they're claiming they don't know either," I winked. I had made sure that on our return to Petalburg City we didn't stand out in anyway from the other citizens, claiming that I had no idea how Rayne and Matariel had received such injuries and that they were probably unrelated to what had happened.

Rayne nodded, "Yeah, and I have no idea how that thing got shut down either." A look of consternation flashed across her face briefly as she lowered her head and frowned.

"Is something wrong?"

"N—no. Nothing's wrong."

I knew I wouldn't get any farther so I let it drop. We walked in quiet for the next few minutes, before I realized something and stopped walking, turning around to face the two girls. "Hey, Aira, what are you going to do now? Aren't they closing the Pokémon Academy and transferring the students to other cities?"

"Huh? Well, yeah; they are."

"Then, where are you going? You could go to Rustboro, it's pretty good there." In addition I quietly mumbled under my breath that a certain teacher with the initials "MJS" wasn't that great though, although he did have his decent moments.

"Well..." Aira looked at the ground and shuffled her feet some, "I'm not transferring. As I told you before, I only had a couple months left, and I'm the best in the whole school; so the school board graduated me early."

"So, you're going to be starting your own journey then?"

"Well, about that..."

"I can see where this is going..." Rayne sighed.

"I wanted to know; do you think we could all be traveling companions together?"

I took a step back and blushed, "W—what? You mean you want to travel with Rayne and me?"

"I have a feeling she doesn't care about me..." Rayne said.

Aira looked down and smiled, a faint hint of redness on her cheeks, but remained silent.

"Well, I suppose I can't just say no..." I muttered, trying to figure out whether I should be overjoyed by this, or fear it like nothing else.

"Good," Aira said as she nodded, "You say we're going to Dewford then? We should probably get some rest being setting out for the ferry terminal tomorrow."

_She's already saying 'we'..._ I thought in dismay.

We began to walk towards the Pokémon Center again, but as we walked Rayne spoke up, "Say, where's Aira been staying? And where's she staying tonight?"

"Your room at the Pokémon Center," Aira responded.

"But..."

* * *

"...There are only two beds..." Rayne looked in dismay at what seemed to be such a small room now that the three of us were all standing in it together. 

I shrugged and dropped down onto my bed, setting Zethro down next to my head. "You two can share the other bed or something. Or one of you can sleep on the floor."

Rayne and Aira glared at each other as Matariel walked over to the boarded up window and lay down beneath it. "I think you should sleep on the floor," Rayne said.

"No, I think not."

"Well I'm not sleeping on the floor."

"Neither am I."

"I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you, if that's what you're thinking."

"Good thing it's not."

"Maybe you should go get your own room."

"Can't. To late now."

"I'm sure you could always return to the Academy to sleep."

"They won't let anyone past the gates unless it's to get their stuff out."

"I saw some hotels on the way here."

"All full of people whose houses were destroyed."

"The road sounds rather comfortable."

"Illegal. If someone were to see me I'd go to jail."

"Sounds fine to me."

As I looked on in dismay, both girls turned to look at me, a smirk growing on their faces. "Uh, I think I'll be falling asleep now..." I nervously said.

"You know, I just realized that there _are_ two beds in this room," Rayne smirked.

"Yeah, you're right. Don't know why I didn't see that one before."

The next thing I knew Aira and Rayne had grabbed me by the legs and pulled me off the bed, dropping me onto the floor as my head whipped back and hit the foot of the bed hard. A Cyndaquil was then thrown into my lap followed by a single sheet. "Hey, that was my bed!" I snapped, attempting to jump up only to be stopped by a pounding pain in my head from where it had been slammed against the bed. I grabbed my head and gritted my teeth as Zethro stirred in my arms. Miraculously he had somehow slept through all the intervention from doctors as we had left the hospital, the whole trip back to the Pokémon Center, Rayne and Aira's little argument, and now being thrown into my lap.

"Not anymore," Aira said from behind me on the bed.

Grumbling I crawled to the space between the two beds and dragged my backpack over, pulling out my sleeping bag and lying on top of it as I spread the sheet over me and put Zethro back down on the floor. "Hey, can one of you turn the lights off?"

"I'm not turning them off," Rayne's voice said from my left.

"I see no reason for me to," Aira said from my right.

"Doesn't matter to me anyway, I can sleep perfectly fine with them on."

"So can I."

"Artificial human lights are no bother for me," Matariel spoke up.

"Don't... Mind... Lights..." Zethro mumbled in his sleep.

Growling I scrambled to my feet, clutching my head and stomping over to the light switch, flicking it off and plunging the room into darkness before stomping back over to my makeshift bed and lying back down.

"Hey, can someone turn on the ceiling fan? It's really hot in here," Aira's voice said.

"I'm not getting up," Rayne replied.

"...Shrike?"

* * *

"Restoration efforts to repair the damage caused by the mysterious attack one week ago are underway in most major parts of the city with residential districts taking top priority. Petalburg Gym Leader, Norman—" 

_Click._

"—Away from Petalburg Gym at the time of the attack and is now leading restoration efforts—"

_Click._

"—He was reported as saying 'Despite the nature of these attacks, this is no time to—'"

_Click._

"'—We must band together to restore our city to its former—'"

_Click._

"God! Is there nothing on besides these stupid news reports!" Rayne burst out as she pressed a button on the remote a final time, turning the small TV in our Pokémon Center room off. Angrily she threw the remote at the TV and slumped down in her bed again.

"That's pretty much all that's been on this past week. The worst part is what they're saying isn't really changing: 'Repairs are underway. Cause of attack is still unknown. Building which staged the attack is still being investigated by the police. Hospitals and hotels packed full.' It's all the same everyday, just with different wording." I sighed from the floor where I was working on schoolwork on my computer. Despite having had almost nothing to do for a whole week, I had been neglecting my work and had a lot to do to get caught up now.

"With good reason... Nothing like this has ever happened anywhere before..." Aira said from where she lay in what was rightfully my bed.

"It doesn't mean they have to keep going on about it," Rayne grumbled.

"Ow, my back hurts..."

Turning on my side I saw that Zethro was finally waking up, stretching out and shaking himself. I set my computer down on the floor and picked him up, setting him back down on my chest. "Finally; you realize you sleep way too much?"

As I stroked Zethro's fur Matariel spoke up, "Rayne, I must ask when we are leaving. Do we not want to get to this ferry as soon as possible?"

"Yeah, we do. Well, I have no reason to stick around here any longer." Rayne said as she leaped off her bed and picked up her backpack which she had already packed up with her stuff, including a portion of the potions she had bought with my money.

"I'm ready too. Come on, I can lead us to the ferry docks; I've been there before." Aira said, standing up and collecting her stuff together as well.

"So, you're really coming with us..." I mumbled, sitting up with Zethro clutched to my chest and turning to face Aira.

"Yep, I already said I was. Is that really such a bad thing?" She flashed me a smile and I blushed, turning away.

"So does that mean I can have another chance at Fury again sometime?" Zethro asked.

"Yep, you can count on it; I'm sure Shrike wants to try again as well," Aira answered.

"Hey! Wait a second!" I shouted, my eyes snapping wide as I leaped to my feet and faced Aira. "You understood Zethro!"

"Well, er..." Aira took a step back from me sheepishly, "Well, you remember when you went to rescue Rayne and left me by myself back at that base? Well, I was looking around some of the rooms there as I was curious about what CORE was exactly doing, and I found these..." She reached into her backpack and pulled out a handful of small, plastic wrapped objects that resembled putty. On the plastic were the words, "Pokécom v5 universal translator. For use only by CORE personnel."

"Wait, you found those at the CORE base?"

Aira nodded, "I remembered what you said about having that translator in your ear, and I figured that these must be the same thing. I suppose I owe you an apology for doubting you..."

"So, this means the company Zack mentioned is..." I let the name hang in the air as I shook my head. "Come on, let's get out of here. This city is only bad memories for me."

I gathered together all of my stuff and hoisted my backpack onto my shoulders, letting Zethro ride on top of it as he looked over my shoulder. Looking around the room I nodded as I made sure we hadn't left anything behind; my eyes pausing on the boarded up window for a second longer as I shuddered at what we had been through. Turning to follow the girls down the hallway to the elevator I rested my hand on Jehiel's Pokéball. I hadn't told anyone about what had happened with the illusory Zelos and didn't plan on doing so; after all, neither Rayne nor Matariel would say what they had done.

"I'm not riding in the same elevator as you," Rayne suddenly said as we reached the elevators.

"Nor am I with you," Aira answered.

"I won't ride with Shrike either; you can."

"I was thinking the same thing."

* * *

**Elsewhere...**

"Sir?"

"Yes, General; what is it?"

"The data you requested has been received."

"Excellent. Bring the recording up."

In a well lit room deep underneath the ground, a man wearing a black cloak sat behind a large desk that faced a wall that was covered completely by one large screen. Other than the man at the desk, and another man who stood at the side of the desk, the room was devoid of life. Under the gaze of the man at the desk the screen flickered to life, showing a color recording from a security camera. As the man watched, a young boy on the screen scrambled to his feet, dropping a Cyndaquil which he had been holding in his arms. A flash of light emitted from the muzzle of a gun the boy was holding seventeen times, before he dropped it and fell to the ground, holding his head in his hands.

"Sir, may I ask why you requested this test be done?"

"I needed to verify something. It appears that I was right after all; _he_ doesn't have complete control of the boy. No, _he_ never would have acted in that way."

"By _he_, you mean Z—"

"Do not call _him_ by that name. It would be better if _he_ was not named at all."

The General nodded and watched the recording loop a few more times. "By the way, we received word from headquarters this morning that Iruel is beginning to show signs of stabilization again."

The man behind the desk nodded, "Yes, I was already aware." Nodding some more he pressed a button on the desk and the screen went blank. "For now, we must concern ourselves only with the completion of Project Thanatos. I will go down now and prepare for the activation phase."

As the man walked towards the door the General's feet snapped together and he saluted, making not a single movement otherwise. The cloaked man walked through the door and out into the hallway, being greeted by two more soldiers who snapped to attention and saluted him as he passed. Continuing his journey through the maze of the underground facility, the man came to an elevator and took it down several levels to the deepest part of the base. When the doors opened he passed through a security checkpoint without being stopped and continued on into a large, white walled room. Vacant computer stations littered the floor right up to a dais on which another metallic desk sat along with a high backed chair. The man ignored all of that though and continued over to the opposite wall of the lifeless room; staring down through the large window set into the wall that overlooked a large, water filled chamber.

The man smiled as he observed the large, sleeping form within the chamber; various cables and pipes emerging from the wall and connecting to various spots over its body. "Hello, my precious trump card," the man spoke to no one in particular, although he was looking at the sleeping creature, "It is time for you to wake up soon, and when you do we will together shower this world in blood; the final retribution for all the sins mankind has ever committed. Together we will rule this world, and with your power not even The Fierce Flame will be able to stop us," the man grinned, fire shining in his eyes, "No, even The Fierce Flame will be forced to bow down before me. 'All hail the divine Lord Fira! Ruler of Earth and all its inhabitants!' I will force him to say."

The man tossed his head back and laughed crazily as he stood alone in that white walled room, the sleeping form of the feathered creature within the chamber motionless and without life.

**End of Chapter 11**

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* * *

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**End of Part 2, Evil's CORE  
To Be Continued in Part 3, Crimson Light**


	12. Chapter 12

**Part 3: Crimson Light**

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* * *

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**Chapter 12**

"Alright! Now go in with a Headbutt, and follow that up with Fury Swipes! Restrain yourself, as always..."

"Zig... Zagoon!"

As I gave the order, a Pokémon that looked similar to a raccoon, a Zigzagoon, ran across the grass in front of me. In his path sat another half blue, half shiny red hedgehog Pokémon, a Cyndaquil. I stood back, my arms folded across my chest, watching as the Zigzagoon dove at the Cyndaquil headfirst; however, at the last second, the Cyndaquil jumped backwards. Surprised, he quickly gave a yelp as the Zigzagoon suddenly switched attacks and began swinging his forepaws crazily in the Cyndaquil's direction; the Zigzagoon's tiny claws glinting through the air. Back flipping off the ground to get away from the Zigzagoon's attack the Cyndaquil came to a rest a few feet away, staring intently at the Zigzagoon.

Both Pokémon were now covered in small wounds from which already dried streams of blood ran, and their fur was scuffed up from the two Pokémon being thrown against trees and the ground by the other. I frowned as I watched them pant out of tiredness and nodded my head. "Well, that's enough for now. Don't want to push you two beyond your limits."

"I am fine, master. I can continue for hours more if you wish it so," the Zigzagoon said. Normally I wouldn't be able to understand his speech, but because of a translator a "friend" had given me, I was now able to understand Pokémon.

"How many times do I need to tell you; even you have limits, whether you can realize when you've met them or not..." I sighed and pressed the index and middle fingers of my left hand against my forehead. "The name Jehiel really fits you; you won't back down, just like a wild animal..." Digging through the backpack I had set on the ground besides me I pulled out two small spray bottles.

"Do we get to eat soon?" the Cyndaquil asked, running up to me. I picked him up and began spraying the contents of one of the bottles over his body. Most of the wounds Jehiel had given him were already healed, but nevertheless the healing potion also soothed any pain he was feeling.

"Perhaps. It's not quite lunch time yet." I chuckled as I sat the Cyndaquil back down on the grass. "Maybe Zethro means 'huge eater' or something like that." I shrugged.

Zethro lay down tiredly next to my feet as I bent down and picked up Jehiel, spraying the second potion over him.

"WATCH OUT!"

Startled I dropped Jehiel and fell down on top of Zethro as a large, shimmering, rainbow-colored beam flew through the air where I had been standing. Turning to look for its source I saw a Pokémon that looked similar to a large eared cat with purple fur running towards me, followed by a girl wearing a black camisole and who had her black hair tied back in a ponytail. The girl sighed and shook her head. "Oriel, you're anything but weak..."

"Um, are you okay?" the Espeon, Oriel, asked me.

"Yeah... Was that you?"

"Can't, breathe..." a muffled voice said from beneath me. Quickly I jumped off of Zethro and picked him up as he gasped for air. Jehiel, despite having fallen out of my arms, looked to be alright as he shook his bristly fur out.

"I'm sorry Rayne; this is all just so new to me. Back at..." Oriel frowned but shook her head. "I was never allowed to use any of these powers freely."

"It's alright; loss of control like that is to be expected when learning something new." A brief, knowing look flashed across Rayne's face, but she quickly composed herself.

"Say, where's Aira?" I asked. Rayne suddenly glared at me for no reason whatsoever and I nervously laughed. "I mean, since I'm done with Zethro and Jehiel right now, and it seems Oriel has had enough training for today, we should get moving again..."

"Last I saw she was with Matariel; I think she wanted to have a practice battle. With a good opponent."

I grimaced as I briefly remembered the match I had had with Aira back before the whole CORE incident. "Don't you need to be with them then?" I asked to try to draw the conversation away from my loss.

"No. Not ever. Matariel can handle herself around Aira," Rayne growled.

I shrugged and turned in the direction Rayne and Oriel had come from, stooping down to pick up my backpack; our camp was back that way. "Yeah, I'm sure that's the only reason you don't want to be with her," I snickered.

Rayne ignored me and began to walk back towards the camp with Oriel following; Zethro in my arms and Jehiel besides me I trailed after them by a short distance. Shortly we got back to our camp and I sat down next to the burnt out fire pit, rummaging through my backpack.

It was the day after our little group had left Petalburg City for the ferry that would carry us to Dewford Island. I had been hoping that I'd manage to catch some more Pokémon along the way; however, as I had discovered on our way to Petalburg, catching Pokémon is a lot harder then TV portrays it. First there was the problem of actually _finding_ wild Pokémon; unlike on TV most Pokémon actually ran away from us before we could even see them. Then, when we did come across a Pokémon that didn't treat us like the plague, our first attack usually sent it running as well. I was starting to wonder if I would ever catch any more Pokémon.

A rustling in the bushes caught my attention and I looked up in the direction it had come from. I didn't see anything yet, but the rustling was getting louder. "Get close to that bush. When I say 'now' use a Flame Wheel attack right in front of it," I whispered to Zethro. He silently nodded and crawled closer to the bush, making not a single noise. Rayne watched with half-closed eyes as she lounged against a tree, her right arm resting on the back of Oriel who lay next to her.

The leaves of the bush began to visibly shake, and suddenly an opening parted in the bush and something stepped through it. "Now!" I yelled.

Zethro's back flared up with fire and he charged forward, spiraling through the air and smacking into the form of whatever was emerging from the bush.

"Yow! What the... Fury!" shouted whatever Zethro had hit as it fell to the ground, waving its arms at Zethro as it trying to knock him off.

"Wait a second... Is that..." I squinted, but whatever Zethro had hit was out of sight, lying amid a patch of tall grass.

"Dour!" A black shape suddenly sprinted out of the bush and leaped over whatever Zethro had knocked over, in the process ramming into Zethro with its head. Zethro squealed as he was thrown backwards and flipped himself around in the air so that he landed on his feet. Growling, he faced the mostly black dog Pokémon who now stood between Zethro and whatever lay in the grass.

"Man, and I just washed this..." the figure behind the Houndour moaned as she stood up and brushed disdainfully at her lightly charred clothes. "Huh, what are you gaping at?" Aira asked as she noticed me sitting by the fire, my mouth open and a nervous look in my eyes.

"Oh, um, nothing. Why did you go and attack her like that?" I asked Zethro innocently.

"Er, uh, I was aiming for that tree!" Zethro quickly exclaimed, pointing a paw at a tree next to the bush Aira had emerged from.

Rayne sighed and stood up as Matariel, her Absol, emerged from the trees; both the Pokémon and her trainer shaking their head. "If you're all finished, let's just get a move on... We should be able to get to the ferry dock within two hours."

* * *

"That will be fifty Pokédollars for each person; for all three of you the ferry trip will cost one-hundred and fifty Pokédollars," the old woman behind the ticket booth at the ferry docks said. 

_I know how to add..._ I refrained from informing her of that small fact and instead just reached into my pocket and pulled out my Trainer ID, holding it out to the woman. She grabbed the card from my hand and swiped it across a small scanner inside the booth, nodding at me as she handed it back. "The money will be subtracted from your account immediately. Have a good trip."

"Yeah, yeah..." I said as I took the three tickets she handed me. Looking the tickets over I walked back to where Rayne and Aira stood next to a white, Milotic-shaped fountain—them taking extra care not to so much as glance at each other—along with Matariel and Zethro who were out of their Pokéballs as usual. "The next ferry doesn't leave for about ten minutes, so I suppose that gives us a tiny bit of time to rest." I said as I sat down on the edge of the fountain.

"Won't we get enough rest on the ferry?" Rayne asked as she sat down on the fountain's edge a few feet away from me on my right side.

"Better being relaxed then being so tense all the time." Aira said as she walked around to my left hand side and sat down close to me.

"If you're so relaxed all the time, enemies will have an easy time taking you out." Rayne scooted a few inches closer.

"Enemies? What enemies? You mean CORE? I doubt we have to worry about them _all_ the time. What's to say we even have to worry about them at all?" Aira also scooted closer to me; closer than Rayne had, actually.

"Enemies can mean anything; even those people who act friendly on the outside may be enemies." Rayne, still inching her way closer to me, glared at Aira as I sighed. _Will she trust anyone now after Zack?_

Before Aira could respond, a loud voice rang through the air. "WOW! We made it! Can you believe that, Pikachu?"

"Why must I suffer so... Why did this idiot have to receive _me_ as his starter..."

"Yeah, I can tell you're excited too!"

"Maybe the boat will capsize and he will drown... Or maybe I will; it would put me out of my misery, at least..."

Looking up, I found that the source of the voice was an about ten year old boy running out of the trees; a yellow rat held tightly in his arms. The boy was dressed up in a pair of blue pants and a dark-green shirt with a mostly blue, unbuttoned jacket over it. He wore a baseball cap that was red with a white front, and as soon as I saw him I groaned, quickly suppressing bad memories that were trying to surface. "Not one of these people..."

"What's so wrong with him?" Aira asked.

"Can't you tell? Look at his clothes, his Pikachu. Here, watch this." I stood up and walked over to the kid, who turned around as he noticed me approaching. "Hey, kid, what's your name?" I asked. I already knew what he would say.

"Huh? Ash Ketchum!" _Oh boy..._ My eyes narrowed until I was glaring at him and he hesitantly took a step backwards, away from me. "Well, my real name is actually Steve Jones..." he mumbled.

"Uhuh. You're a Pokémon trainer I see, but why?"

"To be a Pokémon master!" Steve exclaimed, grinning and pumping his right fist in the air, his Pikachu struggling to get free of the tight grasp his left arm still held it in. At a second glare from me his grin faltered. "And because Ash is my role model..."

"I see... So why the Pikachu?"

"Because it was the only Pokémon Professor May Birch had left since all the other ones were already taken because I had accidentally slept in when I went to get my first Pokémon," he babbled, sounding slightly less excited under my now steady glare. "And because I asked for one..."

"I rest my case." I threw my hands up in the air as if in defeat and turned back to Rayne and Aira. "You see, this is why that god-awful cartoon should be banned from the face of this planet..." I shook my head and glanced back over my shoulder at Steve, who didn't seem to know what to think of all this. "'Ash' is a made up fake whose only true goal is to suck money out of kids like you who purchase everything that has his name on it. Get over it. You and the other millions of kids who want to be him when they grow up should really develop your own identities." I continued walking over to the fountain and sat back down, Zethro running over and leaping into my lap.

"Take me with you! Please! You have no idea how stupid he really is!" the Pikachu yelled after me.

"Whatever. I'm sure Pikachu could beat that Cyndaquil of yours any day. Or even my own Cyndaquil once I go to Johto and catch one." Steve snorted as he turned away from us and walked to the ticket booth, keeping a tight hold on his struggling Pikachu all the while.

"If he wants to act like that, just let him." Aira shrugged as I glared after Steve.

As Steve walked away from the ticket booth and sat on a bench next to one of the three ferries moored off the coast I moaned again. "That's the one we're on..."

Aira threw her hands into the air in defeat and shook her head while I continued to glare at Steve across the empty plaza between the fountain and the boats. There weren't many other people around waiting to get on the ferry; travel through the area had slowed down drastically after the havoc CORE and the AEWG caused Petalburg City.

Not much else to do while we waited, Aira looked upwards and stared blankly at the clouds while Rayne idly stroked Matariel's head as she frowned, lost in thought. Meanwhile, thoughts ran through my head of Steve, and I tried my best to suppress old memories of times long gone from surfacing again. We pretty much remained like that for the next few minutes until finally the gangplank to our ferry was lowered and I jumped up, holding Zethro in my arms. Watching as Steve boarded the ferry I followed up the ramp and onto the more-or-less clean boat.

It was no luxury liner, but it would do for the trip to Dewford Island. The ferry had a fairly spacious deck on which reclining chairs nailed to the floor were spread out beneath a cloth canopy that covered most of the deck except for an open area devoid of chairs at the bow of the boat. In the center and slightly towards the stern was a small cabin, extending above the canopy, which housed the bridge. Farther back towards the stern a small, wooden hatch leading down to the crew's quarters and engine room was set into the deck. There were no interior rooms for passengers as they weren't needed on trips less then a day long.

"Well, I suppose me might as well relax now." I said as I walked over to one of the beach chairs and plopped down on it with Zethro, dropping my backpack down on the deck next to it.

Rayne and Aira silently followed, eyeing each other out of the corner of their eyes. Aira moved to sit down in a chair next to mine, but when Rayne moved closer to her Aira suddenly changed her mind and walked over to a chair far away from me on the port side of the boat. Rayne seemed satisfied with this and hesitated, before stiffly walking over to a chair on the starboard side. _They won't be acting like this the whole journey, will they?_

"Are we floating on water?" Zethro asked nervously as he jumped off my chest and ran over to the closely-spaced rails that surrounded the deck.

"Yeah... Don't get to close to the edge though; you might slip through those rails and fall in."

Zethro took a peek through the rails but quickly ran back to me, his eyes wide. "We're not going to be on this thing long, are we?"

"Define long. We'll be on here for at least five hours." At my words Zethro whimpered and jumped into my lap, nuzzling close to me. "You sure you don't want to go back in your Pokéball?"

Zethro shook his head and pushed even closer to me, as if he was trying to burrow into my chest. Shrugging, I watched as the few remaining passengers boarded the ferry and the grisly looking captain emerged from below and climbed up into the bridge. The gangplank was lifted up and the moorings untied, and before I knew it the boat had started moving.

* * *

After about an hour of pure boredom, I pulled my tablet PC out from the front pocket of my backpack and flipped it open. Between training Zethro, being kidnapped by CORE, worrying over whether Rayne would ever wake up (only to find out there was no reason to worry in the first place), and then training Jehiel _and_ Zethro some more I hadn't written in my stories very much lately. 

Idly I flipped between a few of the work-in-progress stories on the PC, wondering which one to write in. Frowning, I came upon a really old one; one of the first stories I had actually tried writing at all. I grimaced as I looked through it, not knowing why I was paying it so much attention. In short, the grammar, spelling, and description were all terrible and everything was coated in a layer of clichés.

_I've really improved..._ Closing that story in disgust I opened another and tried to write in it. After a few minutes it became quite obvious I had a severe case of writer's block and I gave up at it, wondering if I would ever be able to finish any of those stories.

Looking up from my computer I saw that Aira and Rayne were still sitting on opposite sides of the boat, doing nothing in particular; truth be told, there wasn't much to do on this ferry at all. My eyes fell between them, though, to the boy with a Pikachu who sat in the middle of the boat, looking directly at me. Averting my eyes from Steve I tried my best to escape from my writer's block, but utterly failed to produce anything coherent. Giving up I returned my computer to my backpack and petted Zethro some, trying to soothe him as he shook in fear of the water.

"So, you think you're better then me, huh?"

Startled, I looked up to find that Steve had walked over to me, his hat backwards. I groaned, immediately knowing what that meant. "I never said that..."

"Well, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle to find out!" Steve exclaimed.

"Why should I bother to accept when I know I'll win?"

Steve dug through his pockets some before pulling out a wad of paper. I glanced at it, and he further clarified, "One-hundred and fifty Pokédollars. I saw that you paid for those two girls too, so this would be enough to cover the expense of this trip."

I snorted. "I already have far more than that. I _am_ bored, though, so if you really want to..." I stood up from my chair and grinned. "It's on."

Steve gave me a snide smirk before running over to the cleared area at the bow of the boat; it was just large enough to hold a battle on. Rayne and Aira silently got up and walked over to the open area, taking up new chairs next to it while I walked over with my backpack held by a single strap in one arm and Zethro held by my other. A few other passengers turned to watch, but nobody tried to intervene; this kind of battle on the ferry was apparently common.

"Alright! Pikachu, let's win this!" Steve exclaimed as he took up his spot at one end of the cleared area. His Pikachu moaned but slowly walked over, sighing disdainfully.

"So undignified..." it muttered.

"Huh, well, we'll see about that. Let's go, Zethro!" I stood at the side of the area and dropped my backpack on the ground, letting Zethro jump out of the crook of my arm.

"Why is the floor so wobbly?" He asked as he tried to gain his balance, the boat rocking against the ocean's waves.

"Because we're floating on water, as I already told you," I whispered to Zethro. He squawked and shivered, but quickly composed himself again.

"Okay, this will just be a one on one match then, your Cyndaquil and my Pikachu. Let's get this started!" Steve yelled, pointing a finger in Zethro's direction. "Pikachu, Agility!"

"Pika pika pika!" Steve's Pikachu shouted repeatedly as it began to run around the battlefield at an extremely high speed. Its general path was a clockwise movement around Zethro, making sharp turns whenever it came upon the rail that surrounded the deck; however, due to the somewhat small space, its movement was in a small and repetitive pattern.

"No manners, huh?" I commented at Steve's abruptness. I merely shrugged though, unfazed. "So, you want to play it with speed? Well then... Zethro, use Quick Attack to counter that!"

Realizing that the Pikachu was simply running in a set path, Zethro stood for a moment while he rotated around to keep his eyes on the Pikachu as best he could; shortly he seemed to have figured out its path and set off into his own speedy attack.

"Quil!" Zethro shouted as he jolted straight into the path of the Pikachu, tackling it. The Pikachu yelped as it was sent flying backwards, crashing into the railing and sliding to the ground. Staggering, it crawled back to its feet, shaking itself as it looked around for Zethro again.

Steve grimaced at the attack. "Pikachu! Don't give up now! Get back in there again with another Agility!"

"Using the same move twice in a row? Not a very smart strategy. Well, do that same thing again, Zethro," I ordered.

Once again the Pikachu lurched forwards, running around the open space, and once again Zethro watched; however, before the Pikachu finished a complete circuit of running, Steve suddenly yelled out again. "Now! Iron Tail!"

The Pikachu broke out of its Agility and leapt into the air, its tail glowing a dull gray as it swung it around in Zethro's direction. There was no time for Zethro to move out of the way or for me to even give another command, and the tail connected solidly with Zethro's back. Zethro squealed as he collapsed to the ground, the Pikachu using Zethro's back as a springboard to jump off of, following up the hard smack its tail had given Zethro.

Unfortunately for the Pikachu, Zethro's natural instincts took that chance to kick in and his back suddenly flared up with fire, scorching the Pikachu's feet. It yelped as it tumbled to the ground, the tender pads on its feet badly burnt and the fur singed. Zethro's back was bruised fairly badly; however he managed to pick himself up, stretching his back out to loosen it up some. Glaring at Zethro, the Pikachu struggled back to its feet as well, gritting its teeth at the pain standing on its burnt feet now caused. Nevertheless, it slinked away from Zethro, back closer to Steve.

Casually I leaned against the railing, looking down at the water as if I wasn't in the middle of a battle right then. "Okay, Zethro. Let's get in another attack of our own. Flame Wheel!" I yelled as I turned to look back at the battlefield.

"Not so fast; this ends now! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Chu..." Pikachu growled as it curled its forepaws into fists as sparks arced across its red cheeks. At the same time Zethro surged forward into a running charge, fire flaring up on his back again. It looked as if whoever hit first would be the winner of this match.

"Pika!" Pikachu's body suddenly lit up with bright yellow electricity as a large, jagged lightning bolt shot straight from its body at Zethro.

"Quil!" Zethro squealed as the lightning bolt connected the two Pokémon briefly, stopping Zethro in his tracks. Crying out in pain, he collapsed to the ground, the Pikachu's lightning bolt dissipating and leaving Zethro lying prone, muscles spasms jerking his paws about wildly.

"No..." I moaned, reaching for Zethro's Pokéball which hung from my belt.

"You see? I can never lose." Steve smirked as his Pikachu panted, worn out further from its own attack.

"Shrike... I'm not done... Quite yet..."

I gasped as Zethro staggered to his feet. He was badly worn, and was wobbling about with the rocking of the ferry, not even trying to keep his balance. Steve's smirk suddenly vanished, appearing on my own face instead as I nodded. "Well then, it appears your Pikachu _is_ too week after all. Let us finish this. Flame Wheel!" _How can he still have the energy to fight..._

Fire shot out of Zethro's back in a blaze and wrapped around his entire body, wreathing him in fire as he growled deeply. _His injuries, they make him stronger..._ I nodded to myself at the thought. _But still, by all means he should be too weak to fight..._

"Come on, Pikachu! Use Agility to get out of its way!" Steve shouted frantically.

"Pi... ka..." Pikachu took a couple steps before falling to its knees, gritting its teeth in pain; its paws were apparently burnt too badly for it to run.

"Cyn—da..." Zethro set off running towards the Pikachu, the flames that completely surrounded him licking at the deck and leaving black burn marks on it behind Zethro. "Quil!" Zethro leapt forward, rolling along the deck like a ball straight towards the Pikachu who was painfully trying to stagger away.

"Pika!" Pikachu screamed as Zethro hit it full force, the flames that surrounded Zethro reaching out to circle around Pikachu as the rolling charge slammed it into the railing. Zethro bounced away from Pikachu, righting himself in the air and skidding to a stop on the deck as the intense flames dissipated from around him. He was panting, his fur shined with sweat, and he seemed to be having a hard time standing, but the Pikachu was even worse off.

Limply the Pikachu slid to the deck, all the fur on its chest singed black. Its breathing was weak and shallow; there was no way it was getting back up any time soon. Steve silently glared at me and pulled a Pokéball off his belt. I raised my left eyebrow as he recalled his Pikachu back into its Pokéball. "I thought you wanted to be an Ash clone? His Pikachu never goes in its Pokéball."

"Here..." Steve grumbled as he pulled a crumpled wad of money out of his pocket dejectedly.

"Keep it." I shrugged as I took a potion out of my backpack. Steve mumbled some and walked away, clutching his Pikachu's Pokéball tightly. My eyes followed him all the way back to the ferry's stern, where he stopped and leaned over the railing, looking at the ocean below us.

"You could have let him win..." Aira said, the first thing either she or Rayne had spoken since we got on the ferry.

"What good would that have been? Inflating his ego?" I walked over to Zethro and bent down, picking his weak form up in my arms. He looked up at me before closing his eyes and falling asleep as I sprayed the potion over him. "Besides, he _did_ put up a good fight; Zethro just seems to have more endurance then the average Cyndaquil. No doubt because of what he went through..." _But even then, he survived when it seemed as if he wouldn't..._

Aira frowned and looked back to where Steve stood by himself, as far away from us as possible. "It's just... Look at him. You may have broken his spirit."

"He'll recover. He already is. Just give him—"

"It would be a good idea to grab onto something. Now." Matariel suddenly spoke up.

"Huh? Why?" I asked as I recalled Zethro back into his Pokéball and reattached it to my belt.

"Something is about to happen... Something big..." She muttered, looking into the distance off the starboard side of the ferry, her eyes flicking along the horizon.

Rayne's eyes widened. "Yes. Something is..." She frowned as she pulled a Pokéball out of her pocket and expanded it. "What is this feeling... It seems almost, familiar..." she muttered quietly as she recalled Matariel back into the Pokéball and slung her backpack over her shoulder.

"Um, okay... Are you sure you aren't just seasick? Have you been on a boat before?" I asked. I had no idea what was going on, but I pulled my backpack over my shoulders as well.

"There!" Rayne suddenly pointed out at the sea off our starboard side. "It's the source!"

"There's nothing there..." Aira said as she also collected her stuff together.

Suddenly, a low rumble started up and the ocean currents seemed to change, flowing out from the spot Rayne was pointing at. The other passengers, noting Rayne's odd behavior and the change in direction of the ocean currents, also began to look out at the sea for what was happening.

_Kaboom!_

People began screaming as a loud booming noise rent the air and the waves increased in force, rocking the ship even harder now. Wisps of smoke rose up from the unseen point on the horizon where Rayne was staring at as more explosions rang out.

_Kaboom!  
Kaboom!_

_KABOOM!_

The last explosion was the loudest one yet, brilliantly bright light flashing on the horizon at the same time. Fire and smoke burst into the air and rose up in a column before falling back down and outwards in a more-or-less mushroom shape. Panicking, people huddled together at the explosions as the ferry's crew went around and tried to calm everyone down.

_A nuclear explosion..._ I thought in awe as the mushroom cloud rose high into the air. The explosions had stopped, however the water was now rocking the boat more violently then ever, loose objects on the ferry falling off tables and being tossed into the air and thrown overboard as people scrambled to grab onto bolted down furniture.

Moving my eyes down from the mushroom cloud I refocused my attention on the water; finding that a large wave was quickly sweeping towards us. The wave was growing in height as it approached until a solid wall of water came crashing against the side of the boat, washing over the side as the boat helplessly tipped onto its side from the massive force and began to sink underwater. I desperately tried to grab onto something to keep from falling; my fingers managing to catch onto a bar, slick with water, of the deck railing.

"Rayne! Aira!" I yelled as I watched in horror as they plunged into the water below, lost to sight instantly. Looking around from where I was barely hanging from the railing I saw that most of the other passengers, Steve included, also looked to have been swallowed by the water. _Perhaps his Pikachu's wish came true..._ "Ahh!" Another wave rocked against the boat and it began to turn upside down. My fingers started to lose their grip on the wet bar, and I knew that this was the end.

As my fingers slid off the bar and I limply fell down towards the water, a loud roar below me, from the depths of the ocean, drew my eyes. Just before I hit the surface of the water, a large shadow passed beneath me, zooming away from the source of the explosions. I had no chance to think about it, because just as suddenly as it appeared, only to disappear again, I hit the frigid water and was instantly knocked unconscious.

**End of Chapter 12**


	13. Chapter 13

_Author's Note: I thought that I would take this time to thank the (admittedly oddly few) readers I have on here who enjoy this story. It _is_ quite odd that so few people seem to read this__, much less review,__ on here when compared to other places I've posted this... If you are a loyal reader of this fic on here, please leave a review :D It doesn't have to be anything grandiose or a sentence by sentence analysis, but I always appreciate feedback (and speculation). _

Another thing, as Katie pointed out, yes, my grammar has improved throughout the course of me writing this. At the criticism of reviewers elsewhere who heavily mentioned my somewhat poor grammar as being one of the major detrimental factors to this story, I have been improving my grammar and hope that with each new chapter to only get better.

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 13**

**Shrike**

The sound of waves crashing against rocks... The harsh sting of tiny particles of sand rubbing against my body... The gentle lap of water against my legs...

"Ugh..."

Painfully I pried open my eyes, wincing at the bright light before closing them again. I moaned as I dug my face into the sand I was apparently lying on, wondering what I was doing there. Attempting to open my eyes again, I squinted this time to let them grow accustomed to the light. Slowly moving my head I looked around to find that I was lying on a sandy beach which led up a gentle slope to the edge of a dense forest. The beach had a few rocks scattered about on it, but otherwise I was completely alone with only a worn and tattered backpack lying next to me, my right arm slid through one of its straps.

"What... Happened..."

I tried moving my arms and legs, only to be greeted by a painful jolt running up my body. Gritting my teeth, I curled my right hand into a fist despite the pain, growing accustomed to it. Stiffly, I crawled into a cross-legged sitting position, the pain caused by moving my numb muscles going away the more I moved.

Looking down at myself, I found that my clothes were dry except for my shoes and socks, which had still been lying in the water when I woke up. Apparently I had been on the beach for some time for my clothes to have dried out if I had indeed fallen in the ocean, which I seemed to somewhat remember happening.

"But... Why? Where am I? What happened to Aira and Rayne..."

I looked down at my waist again and was relieved as I saw that two Pokéballs, a Pokédex, and a cell phone all still hung securely from my belt. Pulling the cell phone out of its clip, I looked at its left side where a small, green, LED light sat flush with the plastic exterior of the phone. The light was still on which meant that the cell phone was working fine; apparently it was decently waterproof. Slipping my arm out of the backpack's strap, I flipped open the cell phone, waking it out of standby mode. Moaning in dismay, I saw that the signal strength bar was empty; I wouldn't be able to make a call for help. Flipping the cell phone closed, I slid it back into its clip as I shook my head, trying to sort out what had happened.

"I was on a boat... There was a big wave, and the boat tipped over... Aira and Rayne fell into the water, but I managed to hold onto a rail; ultimately I fell in the end, though..."

Turning around to face out at the ocean, I gasped. Despite it being bright on the beach where I was, and the silver, waterproof watch I wore on my left wrist saying it was only around 3:27 PM—about three hours since I last remembered checking it—the sky far off in the distance was a fiery reddish-orange, thick puffs of dark black smoke streaking the sky here and there. Looking harder, I could just barely see stuff that appeared similar to snowflakes falling out of the sky far away. The currents of the water around the island also seemed to be crazy, swirling around as if the water couldn't make up its mind about which direction it wanted to flow; however, I didn't know if that was related to the weird sky or not. Nevertheless, it was then that I remembered exactly what had happened to cause me to wash up stranded on this beach without my companions.

"There was an explosion! Nuclear, at that... That falling stuff must be fallout... Doesn't seem like it's reaching this far, fortunately."

Deciding that my first priority was to sort out what all of my stuff was too damaged to be of any use, I opened my backpack and dumped it all out onto the sand. Most of my stuff still seemed to be in good condition; however most of the food I had been carrying along with about half of the potions Rayne had forced me to buy back in Petalburg were ruined. Not knowing what to do with it all, I dug a hole in the sand and dumped everything that the water had ruined in it before covering it back up.

The tablet PC I used to do schoolwork and other stuff on seemed to have survived, although I took the battery out to let the circuitry dry, just in case some water had seeped into it. The two sets of spare clothes I carried around were slightly damp, so I laid them out on the sand to dry some. My pocketknife and flint were perfectly fine, but I opened the pocketknife up fully to let it dry so that it wouldn't rust. A small flashlight I carried around seemed to be fine as well.

The last thing I checked was a small anti-static bag with a hard drive inside it, the one I had removed from my computer back at The Pokémon Academy before I left. I frowned as I looked at it, remembering my original reasoning behind taking it with me in the first place, not wanting to let my father have a chance to snoop around what I didn't want anyone to see. In truth, I wouldn't mind if it had been destroyed, however I knew that I couldn't let go of the past. There was no way for me to check whether it was okay or not, so I just assumed it was.

Leaving my stuff lying out to dry, I crawled over to a rock and propped myself against it, holding my head with the knuckles of my left hand. I took my Pokédex off my belt and brushed the activator panel on its side. I knew there was no worry about it not working; modern Pokédexes were designed to be rugged and withstand all the trials a trainer might go through. I wanted to know where I was, however. The two large screens, and the smaller one off the right side of the main unit, flickered to life and I quickly switched to map mode.

"Unable to establish connection to GPS satellite. Displaying last known coordinates," the Pokédex's feminine electronic voice informed me as a map with a red triangle in the middle of the ocean appeared.

"That doesn't tell me much... Odd that I can't get any wireless signal at all out here; I thought these things were supposed to be able to connect from anywhere..."

I closed my Pokédex and slid it back into its clip, folding my arms behind my head as I looked up at the sky.

"So, I'm stranded on some random beach. Most of my stuff seems to be fine; however there's no sign of anyone else around, Aira and Rayne included. I suppose I ought to explore and try to find something, like someplace where I can get a cell phone signal..."

* * *

**Rayne**

"Great. Just great. What are _you_ doing here?" I walked around the beach disgruntled, my hands clasped together behind my back.

"We washed ashore together, apparently. I wonder where Shrike is..." Aira pondered, sitting on a rock and facing out at the ocean, avoiding looking at the fiery sky to the right of the beach we were on.

_Where _is_ he... I hope he's okay... If he isn't..._ Realizing what I was thinking I shook my head, turning away from Aira as my cheeks turned red; not as if she could see me, anyways, as she was facing away from me. _I can't allow myself to think of him. It can only lead to weakness..._ "Who knows, maybe he drowned."

"Why must you always be so negative..." Aira had pulled a Pokédex that was virtually identical to Shrike's—the only big differences between hers and Shrike's were that hers was slightly smaller and thinner—out of her pocket and was looking at it, shaking her head. "Nothing. This says it has no idea where we are, and that last it knew we were in the middle of the ocean."

"Wish I had stayed there... Wouldn't have to be with you." Spinning around on one foot I raised my right leg into the air, bringing it around to solidly connect with a tree near me, sending splinters flying as I vented my frustration by kicking the tree repeatedly. _I should have tried kicking Aira... That would have been amusing..._

"Oh, come on, there's no reason to argue now. We're alone, after all." Aira smiled at some thought of hers and didn't bother to hide her blushing.

"All the more reason to argue if no one can intervene."

Aira sighed and her head dropped down to meet her chest. "So negative..."

"Whatever. No use standing around here all day. I need to talk with Matariel and then we're leaving this beach." I bent down to the ground and picked up my backpack, which I had opened up in order to let the insides dry out. I hadn't been carrying much with me when I had fallen off the ferry, but what I did have seemed to be dry now. Unfortunately, most of our food had been with Shrike, and between Aira and me we hardly had anything to eat. _That Cyndaquil eats way too much..._

Following my example of slinging my backpack over my shoulder, Aira jumped off her rock and bent down to the sand, scooping together all her clothes and other stuff she had laid out to dry. Turning away from her and walking over to a spot where I couldn't be heard, I reached into my pants pocket with my left hand and brushed two spherical objects with my fingers. Hesitating only momentarily, I chose one of the objects and pulled it out of my pocket, expanding the Pokéball and tossing it to the ground in front of me. An Absol appeared out of the red light that burst from the Pokéball, both relieving me because of the familiar sight, and making me disconcerted at the same time. _I always choose the right one... How did I know that was Matariel's Pokéball and not Oriel's? They're no different..._

"You know what happened back there?" It wasn't much of a question, as I already knew her answer.

"Partially, we were too far away for me to be certain of anything. Something has awoken; however, I do not think that was what caused the explosions, or at least not directly. I foresaw the explosions and the boat capsizing, but I know no more for certain other than that we are currently lost." Matariel shook her head, her red eyes closed as if she were trying to focus on something.

"Yes, I sensed a massive amount of energy being awoken as well, and I don't mean that explosion. This energy was... Different." _It was familiar, as if I should have recognized it somehow..._ "Do you think either of them sensed it?"

"No. Shrike might have if he knew how, but Aira is not like him and will never be able to."

"You think that Shrike—"

"I am certain of it." Matariel turned around to the trees and sniffed at something. "He reminds me of you. You both give off similar feelings."

"The two of us? Then, when we meet up again, do you think I should tell him..."

"Not yet. When the time is right, you will know. Until then, everything must remain secret."

"Not as if I have much of a choice; I really don't understand this all." _It would all make so much more sense if I knew _why_ I can do all these weird things... Or even _what_ all I can do..._ "Hey, Aira. Are you coming or not?" I turned away from Matariel and back to where she stood by herself, lost in thought, having been excluded from our conversation.

"I thought you didn't want me with you?"

"If that Pokédex starts working again, I'll want to be able to find out where we are."

"So, now you're relying on me? I suppose if you find Shrike it might not be the best idea to leave you two alone, anyway." Aira grinned as she walked over to where I stood at the edge of the trees.

"Don't push it. This is only a temporary truce," I growled as I stiffly walked into the trees with Matariel, no set destination in mind, merely hoping that we would find something that would tell us where we were.

* * *

**Shrike**

"Damn it, still nothing." I shook my head as I looked at the screen of my cell phone yet again, nothing having changed other than the clock. "I'm starting to fear that I'll never get a signal out here..."

"What's a signal?" Zethro, a Cyndaquil, asked as he walked beside me, hopping over the exposed roots of trees as we continued our journey deeper into the forest in the vain hope of finding a cell phone signal.

"I could climb one of these trees to look for this 'signal' if you will only tell me what it looks like, master," a Zigzagoon, Jehiel, said on the other side of me.

"You can't _see_ a cell phone signal... They're just waves that carry the sounds that someone speaks into a cell phone through the air."

"Waves? As in water? I will tell you if I see these signals you have lost, master." Jehiel nodded, turning away from me. Before I could stop him he had dug his claws into the bark of the nearest tree and was shooting up it like a Mankey.

"But you can't _see_ them! They're invisible!" I shouted up the tree at Jehiel.

"I see some waves back the way we came from!"

"That's the OCEAN!" I yelled agitatedly. "While you're up there, can you at least see if there's anything of interest anywhere around here..."

"Such as what?"

"Anything that's not a tree."

"There's a big rock deeper in the forest!"

"What about _buildings_? Do you see any kind of houses or anything?"

"I don't think so."

"Just keep on looking for anything out of the ordinary..." I sighed as I slumped down against the base of the tree, picking Zethro up and sitting him in my lap. _What if this is an island and there's no one else on it, and I never find a cell phone signal... We could be stranded here forever..._

"What's wrong?" Zethro asked, noticing the worried look on my face.

"Nothing." I shook my head, shaking the thoughts away. "I suppose we could take a break now, even though we've only been walking for about an hour..."

Idly scratching the back of Zethro's head as he lay contently against my chest, a thought came to me. "You know, I haven't seen or heard a single Pokémon except you two since I woke up on that beach... Weird..." Shrugging, I rolled my eyes upwards to look up into the tree. Jehiel was virtually invisible among the high branches as he deftly jumped from one to another, looking around.

"MANECTRIC!"

Zethro yelped at the sudden cry and from above me there was a crash and the sound of cracking branches as Jehiel fell out of the top of the tree and into my lap, looking stunned from the fall. Setting the two Pokémon on the ground I jumped to my feet, looking around for the source of the cry.

A sizzling sound and a loud clap of thunder drew my eyes to the left of me, where I just barely saw a brilliant bolt of lightning strike down from the sky. It wasn't storming or anything, though, so I instantly connected the lightning to the Manectric's cry.

"Come on, that might be a battle going on! If there are people, we can find out where we are!" Things looking up I charged through the trees and underbrush towards where the lightning had struck at. "Hey, do either of you—"

As I emerged into the clearing the Manectric's cry had come from, and that the thunder bolt had struck down in, I suddenly stopped in my tracks as my mouth dropped open. Behind me and to either side I heard Zethro and Jehiel running through the brush to catch up to me; however I spread my legs apart, hoping they would realize I meant for them to stay back and out of view.

In the middle of the clearing a Manectric stood, the hackles on the back of the blue and yellow-furred canine Pokémon's neck rising straight up on end. Around her lay five small Electrikes, four merely pups while the last seemed slightly older. On the other side of the clearing from where I stood were three red-cloaked men wearing pure-white garments under their cloaks, a long, golden sword reflecting the sunlight grasped in each of their right hands. The swords were normal long swords, although they seemed to be forged out of gold, and while the hilts of two of them were featureless, the third's was engraved with intricate patterns that extended partway along the blade as well. The grass between the men and the Manectric was blackened and charred, apparently from the Thunder attack it had released as a warning.

"Hmm, a human?" The man with the engraved sword looked up at me, two spikes of silver hair hanging down the front of his face like a Seviper's fangs while the rest of it fell down the back of his head. He gave a small nod at me and a brief hint of a smile. "You must be a new member awaiting initiation, judging by your clothes. I am guessing that you are here to observe our methods first, though? Unfortunately, these two are still training, so you will not receive as grand a show as you would if I were alone or with more experienced partners."

"Uh, what are..." I stammered, my eyes locked on their swords.

_"When I look at them, all I see is blood and more blood stained upon a golden sword."_

Matariel's words leapt to the front of my mind as I recalled our previous encounter with Reich and Rayth Ranthos. _These men... They are from the same people as those two weird guys from the Pokémon Center back in Petalburg!_

"Well then, stand back and do not interfere. You do not want to get caught up in the ritual. These six pests have been eluding us for too long now, although we managed to get the oldest a few days ago while it was alone. But finally, at last, we have the rest of these sickening Abominations cornered. Now, let me show you all how an expert does this." With a fancy flourish, the man who had been speaking to me twirled his sword around in one hand and raised it to shoulder level, pointing it straight forward at the snarling Manectric as he pointed his other hand towards it as well, alongside his sword blade.

Tensing his muscles he stood poised for a moment, before suddenly jolting forward with amazing speed the likes of which I hadn't seen before. The silver-haired man stopped in front and slightly to the side of the Manectric, his legs spaced apart as if in mid stride and his body bent forward with his head down. His sword, however, was still held outwards, the blade of it pierced through the Manectric's side at a downwards angle.

Stifling a gasp I almost fell backwards, my eyes shooting wide as I watched the Manectric howl and thrash around at the sudden, unprecedented attack as blood seeped down along the golden blade that protruded from her side. Yelping and gasping in pain, she slumped downwards, sliding down the length of the blade as the motion of her falling forcefully enlarged the hole through her that the sword had initially made. Blood spurted from the Manectric's wound as the sickening snapping of muscles and flesh filled my ears, until finally the Manectric fell off the end of the sword, rolling about in her death throes amid a rapidly growing puddle of her own blood that poured from the holes on either side of her like twin waterfalls.

The man raised his head and nodded as he stood back up straight, waving his blood-smeared sword in the air to shake some of the crimson liquid off before wiping it on the grass. "I missed. It should have died instantly; however its heart wasn't where I expected. Still, as you can see, my speed overcomes the need to be barbaric as it results in a swift and surprising extermination, unlike what some of our other members prefer," he emotionlessly told his two pupils and me. _He doesn't show any emotion that he just murdered an innocent Pokémon! What the fuck is going on here!_

The emotionless, silver-haired man turned away from the Manectric he had murdered in cold blood and walked back to his two companions as they walked forward together. Horrified and shaking in fear, my eyes were drawn to the young Electrikes as they nuzzled the limp form of their mother, moaning sadly.

"Mommy? Mommy? Wake up mommy! Wake up!"

"What's wrong? Why aren't you moving? Mommy!"

One of the Electrikes, larger than the rest and apparently the oldest, turned to face the men, hatred flashing in his eyes as a deep growl emanated from his throat. "You! Who are you? Get out of our home before I make you!"

"Go after the youngest Abominations first. Leave the feral one for me. I do not want to take unnecessary risks," the red-cloaked and silver-haired man who now stood back—the leader of the three, it seemed—said. In response the two silent men nodded and raised their swords as the other had, almost awkwardly and hesitantly, though; they didn't seem as used to this as their leader.

I tried to move forward, wanting to do something to stop them; however I found that my feet were rooted firmly in place. I wanted to intervene, however I didn't have the nerve. After seeing how mercilessly the Manectric had been slaughtered... What stopped them from turning on me if they learned I was against them?

"Trike!" two of the Electrike pups yelped as the two new men plunged their swords forward, both of them missing the chest of their targets and instead merely slicing deeply into the side of two of the pups in unison. Blood spurted out of the deep cuts as they drew their blades away, the Electrikes they had hit thrashing around on the ground as fresh blood poured out of the cuts in their sides. Painfully, they howled for help and assistance which would not come as they wheezed for breath, sickly-red guts sliding out of the cuts in their sides amid more and more blood. Death eventually came to them, although far slower and more painfully than their mother's had.

Before waiting for the first two to die, however, the two trainees repeated their attacks for the other two younger Electrikes, their slices swifter and less hesitant this time. Their targets were pierced through by the swords, The Electrike pups pawing feebly at the air as the blades were drawn out of their bodies, leaving them to fall backwards into the ever growing pool of blood as they weakly pulled themselves next to their mother, resting their heads upon her still chest and sobbing. Wiping their swords off on the grass the two men returned to their leader as all four Electrikes they had attacked weekly cried out in pain and died one after another.

The sole Electrike remaining looked around in fear as he realized that he was powerless to stop these people. Whimpering and crying, realizing that he was the last of his family left alive, he went around and nuzzled the limp, bloody, forms of his mother and siblings that surrounded him in a macabre circle of death and gore.

"You... You..." the Electrike stuttered as he looked back at the three men, his tail tucked between his legs as their leader taking up the same stance he had before killing the Manectric.

"Let us finish this and return quickly." The silver-haired man tensed up his muscles again, preparing to charge the lone Electrike and murder him just as mercilessly as the rest of his family.

As my mouth hung open, struggling to say something along the lines of "stop this madness," memories rose to my mind of when Zelos and Ramirez had almost killed Zethro. This was just the same situation... I was too scared to do anything... Fearing for my own life over those of the helpless... This time, however, I had one thing I could do that I couldn't back then.

Quickly I reached behind me and opened a side pocket of my backpack before pulling out a small, red and white ball. "You'd do best not to struggle!" I suddenly shouted as I found my voice, and threw the Pokéball at the Electrike, praying that he had the common sense to see what I intended.

"What the..." the leader of the men gasped as the ball split open and a beam shot out of it at the surprised Electrike, turning him into red energy. The energy was sucked back into the ball and it closed again, dropping to the ground and shaking a few tense moments amid the blood of the dead Pokémon before falling still.

"He's Tainted!" their leader shouted as I rushed over to the bloody mess of bodies and crouched down next to them, gingerly picking the Pokéball up and wiping some blood off it, jerking as my right arm accidentally brushed up against the dead Manectric's corpse and blood rubbed onto my arm.

"You're safe now... Ramiel, Angel of Thunder..." I murmured, the name coming to me instantly as Zethro and Jehiel ran out from the brush, gasping at the gruesome sight before them. "Let me guess. Now that you know what I truly am, you want to kill me and my Pokémon, don't you?"

The silver-haired leader of the group chuckled as he lavishly thrust his sword into a sheath that had been hidden beneath his cloak, his students following his example and doing the same. "As much as I wish I could, I do not have the permission to take on a Tainted at present. Normally, I would disregard that fact as it hardly means anything anyways; however someone very important has just arrived within the last few hours and I, quite frankly, am running late for a meeting with him as it is and don't even have time to take you prisoner." The man glared at me before turning away with the other two. "Your Abominations are spared. For now. I will remember your face, for, if I ever see you again during less pressing times, my mercy may not be so easily earned."

Swiftly the three men ran off into the forest as I grasped Ramiel's Pokéball tightly in my hand, unable to pry my eyes off the bodies of the dead Manectric mother and the four pups that had been murdered right before me. Their lifeless eyes stared upwards as blood pooled around them, and I couldn't help but think that this was all my fault.

"I could have done something... I could have stopped them..." I moaned as Zethro nuzzled against my leg and Jehiel examined the bodies.

"How did this happen, master?" Jehiel asked. He didn't sound bothered in the least.

"Three men... In red cloaks... Golden swords..." I sobbed, unable to keep from crying. _Damn it! It's not as if I knew any of them! They're just some wild Pokémon! Why am I crying over their death! Why do I always have to be so sensitive!_

"That sounds like those people from the Pokémon Center..." Zethro murmured as he averted his eyes from the corpses and tried to comfort me.

Wiping my eyes with the back of my hand I stood up, looking down at the bodies before turning away from them, looking off into the trees in the direction that the men had run off in. "I'm following them. I can't let them just go around and murder Pokémon, and possibly humans, like this. I'm going to find out who they are and why they did this, and then stop them. But first..." Hesitantly I moved my finger over the button on Ramiel's Pokéball. _I can't run off just yet..._ Giving a small nod I pressed the button, the ball splitting open and Ramiel's shaking form appearing before me.

"Who... Who... Who are you? Are you going to kill me! I won't let you!" Ramiel spread his legs apart and bared his fangs at me, his green fur bristling up in agitation.

"No. I saved you. If it wasn't for me... You had no hope." I moved out of the way from between Ramiel and the remains of his family, his eyes changing focus from me to them as his fur suddenly dropped down again, and he stopped growling.

"Mama..." Ramiel whimpered and ran over to the Manectric, trotting through the puddle of blood and splashing it all over himself. "Mama! Wake up! Mama!"

As Ramiel gently nuzzled the Manectric, coating his muzzle in her blood, I kneeled down and stroked his back. "I'm sorry..."

Ramiel looked up at me, sad tears shining in his eyes. "Who are you? What is going on? Why has Papa not returned yet?"

Scooping him into my arms I cradled Ramiel as if he were my child, ignoring the blood that I got on my clothes from him. "My name is Shrike Flamestar. I don't know what is going on here, although I intend to find out. While I couldn't do anything to save your family, I pledge that I will look after you until the day that I die, Ramiel..."

Ramiel looked up at my tear stained face as I looked back at his equally wet face. As his eyes drifted closed out of tiredness, he rested a paw upon my chest where my heart was. "Papa..." he whispered before falling asleep as I, his new father, hugged him tightly.

* * *

**Rayne**

"Hey, can we—"

"No."

"But I'm getting—"

"No."

"I feel like I'm going to—"

"No."

"I just want to—"

"No."

"But we've been—"

"No." _What does Shrike see in her!_

"It won't hurt us to—"

"WE'RE NOT STOPPING OR EATING OR WHATEVER YOU WANT! WE'VE ONLY BEEN WALKING FOR A LITTLE MORE THAN AN HOUR AND A HALF OR SO!" I burst out, spinning around in my tracks and waving my fist at Aira who almost ran into me as I suddenly stopped. Off in the distance to my right a single bolt of lightning momentarily lit up the sky, accompanied with a loud peal of thunder.

"But I only have to go to the bathroom... Really bad..." Aira pouted, crossing her legs as she bounced up and down.

"Oh... Make it quick, then," I said as I spun around on my right heel and slumped against a tree, folding my arms across my chest.

"Hmph." Aira scoffed at me, hurrying a short ways into the brush.

_Bitch..._

A few minutes later, as I was still waiting for Aira to finish, a white shape suddenly leaped at me out of a bush to my left. Taken by surprise, I whirled around to face it, moving the fingers of my right hand into a gun-like position as I swung my right arm behind my back. "Oh, it's just you," I said as I realized it was only Matariel back from scouting ahead. Relaxing, I leaned against the tree again, as if nothing had happened to disturb me.

"Trouble is coming this way," she blankly said.

"Trouble? How so? A pack of wild Pokémon?"

"No. This place is virtually uninhabited by Pokémon."

I blinked, surprised. _I knew there was something odd here... _"Uninhabited? How so?"

"They've been wiped out by human means." For one of the first times that I had seen in my life, a look of embarrassment grew on Matariel's face as she looked away from me. "I was seen."

"By who? Maybe we can find out where we are without needing Aira."

"I was seen by the cause for the diminished wild population, a group of humans who were patrolling the area and killed any stray Pokémon they came across." The embarrassment leaving her face she looked straight at my eyes, staring at me. "A group of humans wearing red cloaks, and carrying golden swords."

The connection was immediate as my breath left me. "You mean, the same people as—"

_"Join us. We will ease your suffering."_ The words came to my mind out of nowhere. Yelping, I grabbed my head as if in pain, gritting my teeth as my eyes widened. _"Join us, and we will give you a purpose."_

"Rayne, are you alright?" Matariel asked worriedly.

"What is this... What are these thoughts... I do not remember them..." I muttered through gritted teeth. "Yet, they are part of my memory..."

_"Join us, and we will give you back what you lost."_

My legs gave out from beneath me and I fell to the ground, clutching my head in both hands as I stared through the gaps between my fingers with wide eyes. "My past..." I whispered.

I waited for more of my forgotten memories to rise, yet none came. My mind was once again my own. As I regained control of my breathing I hesitantly stood up, swaying around as I tried to balance myself, eventually grabbing a tree for support.

Matariel was silent for a moment, but when she saw that I seemed to be recovering she spoke up again, as if nothing had happened. "You'd do best to hide me. It might buy me, and all of us, some time to escape. They're too close nearby to run, and I doubt there's anywhere we can hide, anyways."

"These red-cloaked men, they're after you?" I panted. _What the hell was that... Matariel does not seem to want to talk about it... She must be hiding something... Can she remember the past that I can't? Does she not want me to know?_

Matariel nodded. "You should be safe, but if they see me..."

"Yes. If they want to kill you like any other stray Pokémon, for whatever reason, you can hide in your Pokéball for the time being." Clutching my chest with one hand I pulled Matariel's Pokéball out, expanding it. As a beam of red light shot from the button on the ball and turned Matariel into red light herself, a crashing in the bushes coming from all around me drew my attention. Hurriedly I shoved Matariel's Pokéball back into my pocket just as four red-cloaked men barged out of the trees, surrounding me.

"You! What is your name?" One of the men shouted, reaching a hand underneath his cloak.

"That is not of your concern. If I may ask, where am I?" I replied coolly.

"Do not feign ignorance with me! How can one not know where oneself is!" When I merely shrugged the man narrowed his gaze and lowered his voice. "You are on the property of the Crimson Dawn. You are not supposed to be here."

"I have no idea what you mean." I shrugged. "It's not like I want to be here, we sort of fell into the water and didn't have a choice in where we washed up."

"We?" The man raised his left eyebrow.

"Me and her," I said, pointing behind the man at Aira who had stopped next to a tree when she noticed the four men surrounding me. I noticed, fortunately, that her shirt was long enough to hide the single Pokéball she had attached to her belt.

The men all glanced at Aira as she looked at me, a puzzled expression over her face.

"We will not harm you unless you struggle. However, I am afraid I must take you into our custody for questioning." The man nodded, removing his hand from beneath his cloak.

Silently, I mouthed to Aira, "Don't resist. Keep Fury hidden." She nodded in acknowledgment and walked over next to me.

"By the way, you haven't happened to see a white Abomination running through here, have you?" the group's leader asked me.

"I truly have no idea what you mean." I replied honestly.

With the four Crimson Dawn members surrounding us on all sides, we continued our walk though the forest, only this time with a destination in our guides' minds. _Is that a good thing, though?_

**End of Chapter 13**_  
_


	14. Chapter 14

_Author's Note: I think I'm going to have to start including these with every chapter, since I'm so used to replying to reviews and Katie is anonymous... _

Glad that you enjoy blood, as there's going to be a lot more where that came from. Zethro isn't named after a real angel like all the others, however... Well, you'll have to wait and see :)

**

* * *

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**Chapter 14**

**Shrike**

A silent wind rustled the leaves on the numerous trees that stretched out in every direction from where I kneeled, my dirt-smeared hands resting limply on the ground to either side of me. To my right sat a blue and shiny-red Cyndaquil, while to my left was a Zigzagoon, and in front of me an Electrike. All four pairs of eye were locked on one object that was stuck in the ground at the base of the tree that we faced.

It had taken a while—longer then I had hoped actually, although I knew that it had to be done—but along with the help of my three Pokémon we had managed to dig a shallow hole in the ground. Once the hole had been dug, it was my job alone, as none of my Pokémon were big or strong enough, to take the bodies of the Manectric and four Electrike pups that had been slaughtered before my eyes and rest them in their grave.

A shiver ran through my body as I stared silently at the flat rock that I had found and stuck at the head of the grave to mark where it was, my mind drifting off and remembering the feel of carrying the dead corpses. They were so limp, like plush toys whose limbs would just snap off if they weren't supported right. To think that, no more than an hour previously, those bodies had been alive and full of vibrant life with no other concern in the world than to make the sword-wielding men go away so that they could go back to resting was horrifying.

"Papa?"

Startled, I looked up from my shirt—stained with the blood that had poured out on me from moving the dead Pokémon's corpses—to the Electrike sitting in front of me. He had turned away from the grave and was looking up at me, his eyes with a sad look about them, yet dried of any tears.

"Ramiel..." I muttered. I didn't have the heart to tell him to call me by my name, Shrike.

"Those men will pay. We will make them pay together, won't we, Papa?"

"Yes. We will." I smiled as I looked at him. "Even if it takes all of eternity, you and I will work together to make them pay an equal price for what they have done now, in the past, and in the future."

"Then let's go, Papa." Ramiel took one last look back over his shoulder at the grave. "There is nothing left here anymore."

* * *

**Aira**

"So, you're called 'The Crimson Dawn,' are you?" Rayne asked the leader of the scouting party as we were lead through the woods.

"Yes. That is correct."

"That's an interesting name. When I think of the color crimson, I tend to think of blood. Coincidence?"

"That is not for the unenlightened to know."

_What's she doing? Why is she actually going along with them and not making a break for it, she seems like that sort of rebellious, action-driven type, after all..._ "Um, Rayne..." I whispered in her ear.

"Keep quiet. Later," she whispered back.

I sighed and rested my hand on the side of my shirt, beneath which I could feel the familiar shape of my Houndour's, Fury's, Pokéball. _Why does she want me to keep him hidden? What do these men want with us? Why are they wearing those weird cloaks and white clothes? How come she never tells me anything? If Shrike were here, I'm sure he'd fill me in on whatever he knows..._

"A Crimson Dawn has broken to the east." Looking up, I found that we had stopped in front of a large rock; another of the red cloaked "Crimson Dawn" standing next to it with a long, golden spear held in one hand, the butt of it on the ground and the tip pointing skywards. It was the scouting party's leader that had spoken. "However, one escaped from us. Instead, we found these two."

"The High Chancellor will be pleased to hear of your success today," the man holding the spear, a guard of some kind, said.

"He has arrived?"

"About three or four hours ago. He is currently speaking alone with Xylus. There was...an incident."

"Xylus? I did not think he was the type to make mistakes in anything he does."

"It was not his fault. There was a..." The guard glanced at me and Rayne for a moment, frowning. "Where did you find these two, again?"

"To the east, about three or so miles from here."

The guard slowly nodded. "There was a Tainted boy; at first Xylus thought he was just uninitiated. However, the Tainted revealed his true identity after _saving_ one of the Abominations Xylus and his pupils were training on."

_A boy? Shrike! It has to be! But, oh no... What's going on here...? Did he do something wrong? He's alright, I'm sure of it... He has to be..._

"He _saved_ one!" The leader of our entourage, of sorts, sounded incredulous. "I will never understand those people..." He shook his head sadly.

"That was a short ways to the southwest, a little more than an hour ago. Xylus returned immediately after his failure to eradicate the Abominations he was after."

"How come he did not try to cleanse the Tainted? Surely he would have been able to; he could easily be advanced in ranks if he would merely ask."

"As tends to be the case with him, he did not want to risk that something might go wrong that would endanger his pupils. Plus, he did not want to keep the blessed High Chancellor waiting, as he was due for a meeting regardless of this incident."

"Xylus is far too careful for his own good." The group's leader sighed. "Always going on about being higher than us 'barbarians'... He has talent, but..." Our guide scoffed, turning back to us as if he had just remembered Rayne and I were there and that we were listening to his and the guard's conversation. "Come on, you two. As long as you have nothing to hide, you will be given passage off our island quickly enough."

"We are on an island?" Rayne asked.

"You did not know? You must have known it was an island if you got on it somehow." Our guide raised an eyebrow as the guard pressed his hand against a small panel set into the rock he was standing by.

"As I said, our boat capsized and we washed ashore here, unconscious and against our will." Rayne sighed.

"Yeah, it's a good thing that we didn't lose our P—" I started to say.

"Our stuff. It's a good thing our backpacks weren't separated from us by the ocean currents." Rayne quickly interjected, shooting a glare at me.

_What the hell's her problem...?_

As we spoke, a part of the large rock we had been standing in front of all this time while the Crimson Dawn guard and scouting group leader conversed began to slide outwards with a groan and scraping of rock against rock. When a sizable portion of the rock had been extruded from the whole, it split open vertically into two halves and swung outwards, revealing an alcove in the rock that about four people side by side and four deep could walk into.

"Hey, catch me later; I'll buy you a beer," the guard cheerily said as Rayne and I were led into the alcove, despite it seemingly leading nowhere. Both of us and the four Crimson Dawn scouts all fit inside it fine with room to spare.

"I'll keep your offer in mind. Don't try postponing it for decades this time, though..." the scouting party leader said as he pushed a button on the wall inside the alcove.

As soon as the button was pushed, the ground beneath us shook, and before the rock door even finished closing the floor began to descend downwards rapidly, like an elevator. Unlike an elevator, however, there was no cabin that surrounded us, the floor we stood on being the only moving part of the lift. Inside the open shaft that descended deep into the earth, the only illumination was provided by a small strip of lights recessed into a single wall. Nervously, I eyed the rough shaft walls, wondering what would happen if someone were to brush up against them while we were descending so fast—at least thirty miles per hour. My fears convinced me that into seeing numerous dark patches on the shaft walls that looked like smeared blood, causing me to groan and hope we reached the bottom soon.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Rayne was watching me out of the corner of _her_ eye. Huffing, I briskly turned away; shrieking as I lost my balance and almost fell into the wall that I just knew would tear my skin to shreds if I touched it. Before anyone could say or do anything in response, the lift skidded to a stop as the wall opposite the one we had entered through split open and revealed a wide corridor. In stark contrast to the scientific CORE base that I had been _absorbed_ into through an energy beam, the Crimson Dawn base more so resembled a mine of sorts. The hallways were just tunnels dug through the earth with support beams here and there that held everything together and all light came from two thin strips that were wedged into crevices where the walls met the ceiling and ran along the entire length of the hallways, giving everything that wasn't in the numerous shadows a grim look.

"Wait in here. Someone will be by to speak with you two shortly. Until then, do not try anything funny," the leader of the scouting group told us as he stepped out of the lift shaft and pressed a button set into the wall to the left of us. A section of the rock wall swung inwards, revealing a small room inside with a couple of chairs and a coffee table in the middle; fortunately, the furniture was made out of normal materials and not more rock.

Obediently, Rayne and I walked into the room, the man pressing the button again as soon as we were inside, the door closing behind us. At last, we were alone again without anyone watching us.

"You can't handle blood very well, can you?" Rayne asked immediately as she prodded one of the black, leather chairs, as if afraid it would fall apart if she sat on it.

"Wha... what gave you that idea?" I stammered, surprised.

"In that lift, you were thinking of what would happen if you touched the sides the whole time, weren't you?" She seemed to find the chair sturdy enough and plopped down in it, crossing her arms across her chest and looking directly at me.

"Well... Uh..." I looked around nervously, trying to figure out a way to escape from this conversation. "Yes. I've had...bad experiences in the past." I eventually sighed.

"Death?"

"What do you care!" I snapped angrily. "How is my past any of your business!" _I haven't tried to get _her_ past out of her!_

"These people are murderers. Every last one of them. That's why," Rayne levelly said.

"Murderers? Why haven't they _already_ killed us, then?" I asked incredulously.

"This is only a guess, but they do not seem to kill humans unless necessity calls for it. Rather, they kill Pokémon at almost every chance they get."

My voice caught in my throat at the words. _A group of people...who go around...killing...Pokémon..._ My eyes widened and I sank to the floor, whimpering. "No... It can't be... Could it?"

"Something wrong? That's why I told you to keep Fury hidden. As long as he's not seen, they won't know he's there and won't kill him."

"It's not your concern!" I yelled. _These people _can't_ be the same ones... They just _can't "These people wear white clothes and red cloaks... That person wore pure black... No, they _must_ be different..." I whispered to myself as I stumbled back to my feet.

"I suppose asking what you mean would be futile?" Rayne asked.

"Do I really need to answer that?" I growled.

"Humph." Rayne tipped her head back and looked up at the ceiling as I staggered over to a chair and slumped down in it, breathing hard. "Have you noticed anything odd about that lift, or these doors, or even those light strips?"

I was surprised by the question and it took me a moment to say anything. "Not really; what does it matter?"

"The lift and the doors, they have no mechanical mechanisms. There is no electricity flowing through here, not even to power those lights."

"What? But…then…how can they be working?"

"I don't know, but there's a lot more to these people than there might seem…"

* * *

**Shrike**

Despite having waited about an hour from when I had last seen the men with their silver haired leader, their footprints were still easily visible among the brush and I was able to follow them easily. In not much time at all, I found myself crouched at the edge of a clearing, peering out through the leaves of the bush that hid me from view. Biting my lower lip, I watched the red cloaked man that stood next to an ordinary rock as if guarding it, a long spear held in his right hand. The dim footprints led out of the brush and up to that rock, getting jumbled up with numerous other footprints.

I had been watching that rock and its guard for a couple minutes, trying to figure out what was up with it. Finally, another group of red cloaked men had come out of the woods to the north, exchanged greetings with the guard, and walked into an alcove in the rock that exposed itself after the guard pressed his hand against a small, flat portion of the rock next to him. Now that I knew how to open up that secret door, I just had to figure out a way to get inside it without alerting anyone that I did not belong.

_The easiest way to get information about them will be to act as if I'm a new member who does not know much, as long as they're willing to assist newbies, that is. However, I'm sure they'll be on the lookout for me now, so I can't expect that guard to just let me go through; besides, if I go inside with my normal clothes and these Pokéballs hanging exposed from my belt, I'll stick out like a sore thumb... If I could hide them, and at the same time blend in with all these other people, though..._

In my mind, I quickly formulated a plan. It would be risky, but it seemed like it would work as long as the first steps went as planned and I didn't run into any of the three people that had killed Ramiel's family and seen me.

"Ramiel, you want to help out, right?" I asked the Electrike sitting next to me. I had allowed him to stay out of his Pokéball and assist me in following the footprints, unlike Zethro and Jehiel, whom I had recalled after leaving the gravesite.

"Of course, Papa!"

"Good. I want you to give that guard an electrical shock. Not enough to kill him or anything, but enough to knock him out and keep him down for awhile. You think you can do that?"

"I think I may, I'm the strongest among my brothers…and…sisters…" As he said the words, the reality of the situation suddenly dawned on Ramiel again, and his eyes grew wide as he started to whimper and sob.

"Ramiel, if you think—"

"No. I can't let this affect me. They all may be…gone…but I must not let it be in vain. Given the chance to attack their murderers, I must not let myself falter."

"Well then, if you're up to it…" I peeked out through the bush another time to make sure the guard was still alone and that another group hadn't come to enter the rock. "Now!" I hissed quietly.

Ramiel quietly crawled through the bush so that he could see his target clearly enough. Spreading his legs apart, he lowered his body close to the ground, bracing himself. Small arcs of yellow electricity began to leap from one strand of his fur to another, until all the fur on his body was standing on end and sparking like a brilliant light show.

"Elec…trike!" Ramiel howled once he was fully encased in a yellow electrical glow, a bolt of lightning leaping from his body and homing straight in on the guard's chest. It only took the lightning bolt a split second to cover the distance between Ramiel and the guard, so he had no time to react, or even think about what had happened, before he was struck by Ramiel's electricity. His body went momentarily stiff and his eyes rolled upwards as he fell to the ground, turning limp.

"Alright! I shouted, leaping up and running over to the guard, rolling him onto his back carefully. Quickly, I checked his vital signs and found that he was still alive, fortunately. He was completely unconscious, though, and I had a feeling he wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon.

"Was that good, Papa?" Ramiel asked, chasing after me.

"More than good, that was actually more powerful than I was expecting," I said as I maneuvered the limp body about and pulled off his cloak. I had noticed that all these people also seemed to wear pure-white clothes underneath the red cloaks, and this guard was no exception. Taking his cloak off and wearing it myself was my limit, however; there was no way I was going to completely undress a total stranger and leave him naked in the middle of a forest. While I couldn't do anything about my blue jeans, I did have a white undershirt that I pulled out of my backpack and replaced my red T-shirt and black jacket with. As long as I kept the cloak wrapped around my legs, nobody should know that my pants weren't the right color, anyways.

Ramiel watched curiously as I changed my shirt and pulled the big cloak on—which actually fit surprisingly well, thanks to my larger than average height. "Papa? Why are you changing your skin?"

_Not another one... Jehiel would be proud..._ "It's not my skin, it's my clothes. We humans wear this external clothing to help protect and warm us." I sighed.

"Ah, I suppose that makes sense, as you humans only have a little hair on the top of your heads to warm yourselves."

_At least he's more accepting than Jehiel..._ "Ramiel, you may not want to, but you'll have to go into your Pokéball while I'm inside this place," I told him once my shirt was changed and the red cloak pulled on.

"Wha...you mean that thing I went into when you saved me? Why can't I go with you, Papa?" he whined sadly.

"Because you can't be seen. I have no doubt that if any of the people below were to see you, they would attempt to kill you just like they did to your family." I knelt down to the ground, petting Ramiel as he sadly looked down, his ears and tail drooping as he softly whined.

For a moment he was silent as I pet his back, but suddenly he looked up at me with a smile on his muzzle. "I suppose the best way to help Papa in this instance may be to remain hidden, so that they will not know who you are."

I smiled in return and nodded. "Yes, that's exactly why I want you to return to your Pokéball. It's the best way you, and all of my Pokémon, will be able to help me with this."

Ramiel closed his eyes and rubbed his head against my wrist. "But, promise me this. If anything goes wrong and you need help, you'll call on me before either of the other two."

"I promise," I said, using my free hand to grab Ramiel's Pokéball from my belt, which was hidden beneath the red cloak.

"But, Papa?" I paused at Ramiel's further words; breaking the smooth motion I had developed of taking a Pokéball from my waist and pressing the button on it to recall a Pokémon. "Why do they do this? What do these people have against us? What did Mama, and all my brothers and sisters, do to them?"

"I don't know. I really don't know. But we _will_ find out one way or another. Mark my words."

* * *

**Aira**

We sat around waiting in that little room for a couple minutes after we had been locked inside it, Rayne walking around all the while and examining almost every aspect of it from the furniture to the locked door to the odd light strips that ran around the ceiling. Meanwhile, I took Fury's Pokéball off my belt while her back was turned, twisting it around in my fingers as I looked it over and wished I could open it for just a few seconds so that I could make sure Fury was okay, and perhaps cuddle with him a bit. However, even I had a feeling that releasing a Pokémon inside this cave-like place would be a bad idea.

One time, while I was looking longingly at Fury's Pokéball, I realized that Rayne had been staring at the door without moving on to examine something else for longer than usual. Looking up, I couldn't see anything wrong with her, but as I began to lower Fury's Pokéball to put it back on my belt underneath the fringes of my shirt, she slowly began to speak. "I can feel it... Like before, but there is more now... It is not alone this time... There is something else, and that too is familiar..."

"Uh, what did you say?" I asked, confused.

"This power... it can't be... No... Wait... This isn't right..." Rayne was still facing the door, away from me, yet I could tell that she was frowning, deep in thought. "It just...disappeared... It's gone... How could such a huge energy source just disappear like that...? Yet, the other is still there..." I didn't know what to say in response to Rayne's murmuring, and so remained silent, realizing that she probably didn't intend for me to have heard her at all. _She must be a loud whisperer..._ "Aira?" She raised her voice up to a normal speaking level, now apparently intending for me to hear her.

"Er, yes?"

"Prepare yourself, and put Fury's Pokéball back away. Someone is coming to fetch us, and I can not guarantee that we will be able to disguise our identities forever. If you keep toying with that ball, accidents could very well happen."

_Wait, how did she know? Did she see? I thought I was being more careful. Oh well, she doesn't seem to be in her usual angry at me mood right now._ Before I could say anything, and almost as soon as Rayne had finished speaking, the door began to creak and groan as it split open outwards, Rayne still standing there and facing down the Crimson Dawn member that had opened it.

"Er..." The guy blinked, surprised to find Rayne standing right behind the door. "I have been sent to see you two down to where you are to meet with our glorious and blessed leader, our High Chancellor himself, who has decided that he would like to personally meet with you, and discuss the matter of your arrival and eventual departure."

As I stood up from the chair I was sitting in, Rayne smiled and nodded her head. "Yes... I would very much like to meet with your leader myself."

_She seems almost excited about this... How can anything that's related to these people be something to get excited over?_

"I must warn you beforehand, the High Chancellor does not like being lied to, and he has a knack for discerning whether a person is telling the truth or not. Also, he can not stand rude or insolent behavior, nor does he like being questioned himself or talked back to in any way. While our doctrines may prevent us from directly harming any human who has not resisted or raised weapons against us, our High Chancellor has several...indirect methods."

"Yeah, yeah, we're right behind you. Come on, take us to this leader of yours," Rayne said.

"Rayne..." I murmured, wondering why she was acting like this.

"Well...uh... follow me, then." The Crimson Dawn member bowed to us and briskly turned around, looking back over his shoulder to make sure that Rayne and I were following him as he led the way down the tunnel-like hall.

For about five minutes, we winded our way through those tunnels, twisting to the left, right, downwards, upwards, and even spiraling down a twisted staircase to descend further into the ground. It wasn't long before I lost all sense of direction as we were marched through the seemingly endless labyrinth of tunnels. Oddly enough, I didn't see a single door in the wall anywhere, but then I remembered that if all the doors down here were like the ones hidden in the rock aboveground, and that led to the waiting room we had been held in, there could very well be a door every three feet along the walls and I wouldn't know otherwise with just a single glance.

"He is waiting through here," our escort said as we suddenly stopped before the only normal door that I had seen in this place so far. The double door was huge, taking up the entire end of the tunnel we had been led down. The top half of the door's brown, wooden surface was inset with intricate gold patterns in the shapes of suns and stars, while the lower half was engraved with some sort of red ink that depicted what seemed to be a sea of red liquid.

"Yes, he is." Rayne walked up to the door and examined its surface. "I did not need to be told that." To herself she then, somewhat loudly, whispered, "Such a huge energy source... it's like a homing beacon... Just who is this...?"

"Go on in, then." The man bowed and turned back away from us, but suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Remember, our High Chancellor does not like lies, and can see right through people. If you do not please him..." Nervously, the man shook his head and hurried away, leaving us alone before that large door.

"Rayne, we could try to escape right now while no one's around to stop us." I suggested, however she shook her head.

"No, we would just end up lost. Besides, I have a feeling we'll learn a lot more answers ourselves if we meet with this leader of theirs."

Before I could respond, the door suddenly creaked and began to split open by itself, swinging inwards to reveal a large, grandiose room tiled with gold. Large tapestries depicting suns and seas of red liquid like on the door hung from the walls between tall, golden pillars that reached from the floor to the high ceiling of the room. At the far end, opposite the door, a gold throne cushioned with red velvet sat atop a tiered dais, surrounded by pedestals that displayed a wide variety of exotic food and swords.

"Well, so our..._guests_...have seen fit to arrive. I was beginning to get impatient."

Sitting on the throne was a man clad entirely in a long, red robe. The robe hid almost every feature of his body except for two clean and pristine hands emerging from the robe's long sleeves, gripping the arms of the throne. Even the robe's hood was pulled up to hide his head and most of his face, which was in shadow except for only his mouth, which twisted into a grin as we slowly walked into the room. Wearing that red robe, he was completely indistinguishable.

"_I_ am The Blessed Light of the Occult, High Chancellor of the Crimson Dawn. _You_ will address me as 'High Chancellor' while you are in my presence," the robed man said in a low, resonant voice.

"My name is—" Rayne began.

"I did not _ask_ for your names." The robed man, the High Chancellor, cut Rayne off, agitatedly. "If I want to know them, I will _ask_ you. As of now, I do not require them. Now, you may, or may not, be let free; _however_, before I make my decision, we must first converse..."

**End of Chapter 14**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Shrike**

"Welcome, fellow Chosen. I do not believe I have seen you before?"

"Er, uh, yeah—no! I mean, yeah as in you _haven't_ seen me before," I nervously stuttered. I had just stepped off the elevator hidden in that rock whose guard Ramiel had knocked out to find myself confronted by someone I _really_ would have rather avoided.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" The Crimson Dawn member, cloaked in red with his hair tied back in a rat-tail, seemed confused.

"Oh, uh, nothing. I will just be going now. Further into this...place." Stiffly I walked around the guy, however his eyes drifted down to the backpack I held by the straps in my left hand and he moved in front of me, cutting me off again.

"What is that for?" the man asked suspiciously.

"Oh, uh..." _I knew I should have just left it outside..._ "I'm new to this place as I was just...uh...accepted, and these are my personal belongings."

The man paused for a moment, before a smile split on his face and he clapped his hands together. "Ah! I see! Excellent! With the disturbance in Petalburg City, we were thinking we may have lost the fine young Chosen we had put so much work and risk into discovering there. Let me be the first to formally welcome you into our little family and to wish you luck on your performance evaluations over the next couple of days. I assume you will be completely lost without a guide?"

_Well, maybe this isn't working out so bad after all. Strange though that he doesn't seem to—_

"Oh, right, we have not traded names yet. I am Rayth Ranthos, younger brother to the esteemed Reich Ranthos. I too am fairly new here, however brother is fairly high-ranking. He won't tell me much, but I think he may even be promoted again soon."

"Uh, well..." I hadn't expected this, and didn't have any sort of alias ready. Quickly I racked my mind and went with the first name that came to me. "My name is JC Denton. Pleased to meet you, Rayth." _I hope he doesn't play very many classic video games..._

"JC? Does it stand for anything?"

"Well, no. It's actually a nickname; my real name is...uh...Michael. Yeah, but everybody just calls me JC. For...some reason..."

"Well then, I must call you JC as well. Come; let me show you to your room so you can drop your stuff off, then I can give you a small tour."

"Well, uh, I suppose so. I would like to know more about the layout of this place." _In case I need to make a quick escape... Heh, good thing he doesn't recognize me from back at the Pokémon Center. He even acts different here..._

"Good, then let's get going." Rayth nodded cheerfully and led me down the hall, which I noticed had no visible doors along it, but instead small panels which would apparently open up hidden doors, similar to the one on the rock aboveground.

Glancing at Rayth, who walked right next to me, my eyes drifted to his waist where I noticed a black-leather wrapped golden hilt sticking out from the folds of his cloak. "Um, is that yours?" I asked as I stopped walking, pointing to the hilt.

"Hmm? Why, of course." Rayth grasped the hilt and pulled it out from beneath his cloak, revealing it to be a long dagger with a foot long golden blade. "I just received it recently, after the blade me and brother usually use was confiscated by these rude locals in Petalburg who claimed we needed a 'permit.' We managed to get it back, but the Divines thought it best if we each carry a specially-made backup that is more easily concealed since we're not too skilled at the Great Art yet."

"Can I hold it for a second?" I asked. There was something about the weapons all these Crimson Dawn people were carrying that didn't seem right.

"Just don't drop it on your feet." Rayth laughed, holding the hilt out to me. I took the dagger and instantly frowned; it definitely wasn't normal.

Its balance and weight were perfect in my hands. However, if it had been made especially for Rayth as he claimed, it should have felt awkward when I held it because of our physical differences. Instead, it felt perfect, almost as if the second I had taken it from Rayth it had somehow changed its weight to suit me instead of him. Running my left thumb along the flat side of the blade, I found that it was remarkably slick and hard. Yet, I had never seen anything so golden before, which led me to believe that it was actually pure gold and not an alloy; however, pure gold would have made the blade far too soft and unsuitable for cutting.

"What's this blade made from? It looks like gold." I asked incredulously.

Rayth blinked. "Of course it's gold. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well...what else? It can't be pure gold."

"Why not? Our craftsmen construct all our weapons with one-hundred percent pure gold, just as our High Chancellor himself demands it."

_Pure gold... But how? These kinds of weapons shouldn't be able to physically exist... Where are they getting so much gold from anyways? _"No reason, I don't know what I was thinking for a moment. Here." I held the dagger back out to Rayth and he took it from me, sheathing it again. _I will have to visit these craftsmen while I'm here..._

"There should be some empty rooms just around here...someplace..." Rayth mumbled to himself as we continued down the tunnels, passing a few other people once in a while who didn't seem to pay us much attention. I was paying careful attention to the layout of these tunnels, so that I wouldn't get lost in them when I was by myself, though, and quickly realized how few people were around.

"Where is everybody? Is it always this empty down here?" I asked.

"Well, most of the scouting groups are out patrolling the island for a stray Tainted that somehow was set loose on us. Most everyone else is getting ready for a congregation with the High Chancellor. He's usually off by himself, 'seeking the light that will bring the true Crimson Dawn upon this world' he says, so when he visits it is a great thing. Ah, here we are," Rayth said as he turned a corner and stopped. "Room number five seventy one. Currently empty, but as soon as you step inside it will be registered to you."

"Um, how?" I asked as I pressed a button on the wall near that Rayth was pointing at. "Some kind of electronic organic life sensors around the door frame?"

"What's 'electronic' supposed to mean?" Rayth cocked his head, and I surprisingly realized that he actually didn't know what electricity was.

"Well, stuff like computers and...lights..." I looked up at the light strips that illuminated the tunnels and frowned. _How can anyone not know what electricity is? Especially these days..._

"Oh, I think I recall brother mentioning something along those lines sometime. You'll have to excuse me; even though I was only initiated a short while ago, I have lived here all my life, and so have little knowledge of the outside world. Brother lived his early childhood outside, but he too spent most of his life with our parents down here. Now we go above ground on missions frequently, however we are to interact with people as little as possible, and attend solely to our tasks. Perhaps sometime you can teach me of this 'electricity.'"

"Yeah, perhaps..." _That still doesn't explain how he doesn't know what electricity is... I mean, what else is powering these lights, and what else but a computer can sense when a person enters a room? Nothing is making any sense down here..._ Shrugging, figuring that it would all make sense to me in due time, I stepped through the door that had opened up while Rayth had been explaining the reason behind his ignorance. As I stepped through the door I felt a slight tingle around my body and shivered; whatever it was that registered me walking into that room, I was actually able to _feel_ it, unlike any computer controlled sensor I had ever passed through.

"You can use those buttons to control the door lock so that it will only open to you." As Rayth walked into the small room besides me, he pointed to a series of square buttons with text labels next to the inside of the door. "There's not much else to this room besides that, it's just a room." Rayth shrugged as I looked over the room, which was now apparently mine although I had no intention of staying here longer than I needed to. The room reminded me of some of the cheaper, lower class dorms back at The Pokémon Academy; a small square with a bed in one corner, a desk next to the bed's head, and a dresser on the last free wall that the door wasn't on being all within. I dropped my backpack on the bed and looked around nervously, hoping that the room's bizarre locking method really did work right. I didn't want anyone here finding the empty Pokéballs I kept in my backpack...

Scanning my eyes over the buttons, I pressed the one that had the text "all unauthorized people locked out" printed on it. Rayth backed out of the room as I walked out as well, pressing the door control button outside to close the room up again. "So, um..." I realized that I really had no idea how to find out anything about these people without looking suspicious, but then remembered that Rayth had mentioned a meeting with some High Chancellor. It sounded important and possibly explanatory, so I figured I should go to it. "When's this meeting thing happening?"

"In a little under an hour or so, the High Chancellor is currently privately meeting with two girls that were found on the island."

_Two girls! Aira and Rayne? How did they get in here!_ "What do they look like?" I asked, trying not to sound alarmed.

Rayth burst out laughing. "Why, JC, you're too young to be worrying about that!"

"No, I don't mean—well, are they going to be okay? They surely didn't do anything wrong?"

"They should be, unless they're hiding something, of course. Say, let's go eat something while we wait."

"But, I wanted to go see these craftsmen," I said, knowing now that I couldn't stay that long if Aira and Rayne were also here. _If these people find out that they have Pokémon with them..._ "I was also wondering if there was some sort of library with—" I was interrupted by my stomach growling loudly, my shoulders sagging out of embarrassment as I realized that I hadn't eaten since before I had gotten stuck on this island.

"Your stomach says otherwise. Come, if it interests you I can show you our craftsmen at work and our grand library after the meeting with the High Chancellor. Do not forget that you will also have to meet with your instructors sometime today."

* * *

**Aira**

"You _claim_ that you had no intention of ever setting foot on this island. Tell me _exactly_ how you came to be here then." The High Chancellor released his grip on the arms of the throne he sat on and crossed his arms across his chest, tipping his hooded head back slightly.

"We were on our way to Dewford Island to get away from Petalburg City. On the way, an explosion out at sea created a large tidal wave that tipped the ferry we were on onto its side. The two of us fell off together, were knocked unconscious upon impact with the ocean, and drifted onto a beach here," Rayne said.

_And it's not even a lie..._ I noticed. _I should probably just let her talk since she seems better at twisting the truth than I am..._

"Then w_hat_ were you doing on our island when you were found? You washed up on the beach, but were found deep in the heart of the island."

"Looking for signs of civilization. We didn't, and really still don't, know exactly where we are in relation with the Hoenn mainland, and hoped that we would find someone that could help us out."

"_Why_ is your destination Dewford Island in the first place?"

Rayne paused slightly. "I want to visit the resorts there. After the events I went through at Petalburg City, I just want to relax some."

"And her?" The High Chancellor gestured slightly at me.

"She's joined up with me because I know a boy she likes, and she wants to get to know him better."

I blushed and looked at the floor. _She's good... Who knows, maybe we'll get out of this after all._

The High Chancellor frowned slightly before uncrossing his arms. It was only then when I noticed the gold ring around his left ring finger, a spherical blue stone set atop the ring. Glancing at Rayne, I noticed it was the exact same kind of ring she had pierced through her belly button. I didn't have much time to think it over because before I could, the High Chancellor continued his interrogation of us. "What is your occupation?"

_Shit..._

There was a longer pause this time, but finally Rayne spoke up again. "I don't have one. I'm merely a wanderer traveling around." Rayne's voice was quiet, and my heart began beating fast as the High Chancellor's frown deepened.

_"Remember, our High Chancellor does not like lies, and can see right through people. If you do not please him..."_

"Hers." He gestured at me again.

"A student from Petalburg on an indefinite vacation."

My breath caught in my throat as my mind raced over Rayne's words. _It's close... I _was_ vacated from my dorm, but I'm no longer a student, although I was while in Petalburg. And what about her? Wouldn't she be a Pokémon Trainer as well? Truthfully, she doesn't act like one, though... Come to think of it, was she ever really licensed? She has an ID, but that's really all to suggest it. Who knows where it might have come from._

The room was silent for a minute as beads of sweat formed on my forehead. I almost wanted to say something to break the silence, but knew that I would likely just make the situation worse.

"On the door to this chamber there was a picture, further represented on the tapestries in this very room." The High Chancellor's comment came completely out of nowhere, and I almost jumped at the words. "_What_ do they represent?"

"A—" Rayne began to speak, but the High Chancellor quickly cut her off with a shake of his head.

"The other girl. I want her to answer for once. I have heard enough from you."

I nearly choked but tried to calm myself. _He can't know about...that..._ "Um, well... It looks almost like some sort of...ocean, a...red...ocean, during either dawn or dusk, as the sky is gold..."

A smirk grew on the High Chancellor's face. "That 'red ocean' is not an ocean, nor is it even water. But, I think you know that, and just don't want to admit it." The High Chancellor reached towards a table on the right of his throne, upon which a gold short sword about two feet long with some sort of runes extending along the entire length of the blade lay. Grasping its hilt, he lifted it up and pointed it straight downwards, resting the tip of the blade upon the surface of the table while he let go of the hilt and rested a single finger upon the pommel to hold it up vertically. With the flat of the blade now facing us, I could clearly make out the dark red splotches and stains upon its surface. "Perhaps this might help you accept reality."

I looked at Rayne nervously and she shook her head. "That's not human blood," she stated. It wasn't a question, it was a fact.

"No, it is not. It is the blood of _our_ enemies, of the enemies of _all_ mankind. While we are _called_ the Crimson Dawn, that picture depicts the _true_ Crimson Dawn; the day when every single last Abomination on this planet is resting in the bowels of the hell they came from." The High Chancellor grinned as he rested the sword back on the table. "It is that day we as a whole are working towards."

I couldn't prevent my hands from curling into fists at the thought. I almost felt like attacking that bastard alongside Fury right then and there, but I restrained myself as I knew this guy hadn't become the leader of these sick people for no reason.

"Why are you telling us this?" Rayne asked levelly, keeping her cool.

"I see potential. In you." The High Chancellor raised his left arm into the air, stretching it out towards us with his palm downwards and his hand hanging limp. To my surprise, a white light began to glow underneath his outstretched hand, and I cocked my head perplexedly at it. Glancing at Rayne, I noticed her eyes shoot wide and her mouth fall open for some reason. "Such potential... Do you even _know_ what you are capable of yet?" The ball of light that hung suspended in the air underneath the High Chancellor's hand was now almost too bright to look at, but I couldn't help but look as he swung his arm, and the light ball with it, in my direction. "If you are, show me."

The High Chancellor snapped his hand upwards so that his palm now faced me, the ball of light swinging upwards with it. A grin twisted upon his face as the light suddenly expanded to a sphere about a foot in diameter and shot away from the High Chancellor's palm, heading straight towards me as I stared dumbfounded. "Get out of the way!" Rayne shouted, jumping at me and shoving me to the ground, bringing her right hand up to face the oncoming ball of light. I gasped as I noticed that the fingers of her hand were pointing like a gun, a yellowish-white light emanating from her extended "barrel" finger. Suddenly, a large beam of yellow tinted light, accompanied with a wave of immense heat, burst forth from her fingertip as Rayne gritted her teeth.

Rayne's beam collided with the ball of light in mid air, a small explosion creating a cloud of smoke that made me cough and my eyes water. While the light ball was stopped from the explosion, the beam wasn't and shot out the other side of the smoke cloud, directly towards the High Chancellor. Nodding his head and grinning, he didn't seem to care about the oncoming beam, as if he could somehow stop it with his still extended left arm. However, just before arm and beam met, a curved barrier—foggy transparent white in color—appeared around the front of the High Chancellor's body and stopped the beam in place. Rayne's arm dropped and the beam cut off, the remaining energy compacting itself into a sphere held at the end of the High Chancellor's left arm through the barrier.

"Yes, I see. So much potential, yet it's out of control." With a flick of his wrist, the High Chancellor threw the sphere of Rayne's energy at the far corner of the ceiling, literally melting a large hole in the rock.

The whole process of the High Chancellor firing his attack at me and Rayne blocking it with her own had only taken a couple of seconds and left me stunned, lying limply on the floor where Rayne had pushed me to. "What the hell was that?" I asked aloud.

They both ignored me, though. It was as if I wasn't there or something. Rayne's eyes were locked on the High Chancellor as she panted and held her knees, and I could only imagine his were locked on hers. This was far beyond a mere interrogation now.

"You could sense me the moment you walked into this place. Didn't you?" the High Chancellor asked, settling back into his throne. "As could I sense you. I knew you were here the instant you washed ashore."

"What is that power?" Rayne panted. Her voice was dead serious.

"Energy. _Pure_ energy. The life energy of _everything_. The energy that _forms_ this world and everything in it. The energy that _binds_ this universe together. The energy of _existence_ itself."

"Arcana Energy." Rayne interjected.

The High Chancellor grinned as he spoke. "That is one name it has been given, yes. So you have heard of it before?"

"Once."

The High Chancellor nodded and extended his left arm outwards again as before with his palm facing downwards; however this time his fingers were curled into a loose fist as if gripping the handle of something invisible. "Arcana Energy is the base energy that comprises _all_ matter. If you know how to control it properly, one can _channel_ it into any form they desire, including material." A shaft of light suddenly extended outwards from the side of the High Chancellor's loose fist and through the air in front of his chest. At the base of the shaft of light, close to the High Chancellor's hand, two shorter shafts of light branched off the main one in a wide V shape, the bottom of the V pointing at his hand.

The light began to dim and turn gold in color, and I realized that it was turning into a gold sword about two and a half feet long with a very slightly curved, single-edged blade covered in runes similar to the blood-stained one he had shown us. The V shape turned out to be the cross-guard of the sword, and his hand was wrapped around the hilt. "To add to that, Arcana Energy can reinforce objects and change their physical properties, like this pure gold sword. Of course, what can be built, can also be disassembled." The sword began to glow again and turned back into light, before fading out of existence. "That beam attack of yours is just another way to channel Arcana Energy. Actually, I believe you may know a name for it already, as you've probably seen Arcana Energy channeled into that and like forms many times before."

"It was a Hyper Beam. I've seen enough of them at school to recognize it," I said, pulling myself to my feet. My eyes widened though as I realized what exactly I had said. _Shit shit shit shit shit! That's why I shouldn't talk!_

"Yes, quite. Do not bother thinking up an excuse, as it's no use." The High Chancellor extended his left hand towards us again, and I felt a rustling under my shirt. Before I could do anything, Fury's Pokéball suddenly flew off my belt as two more Pokéballs shot out of Rayne's right pants pocket. Frantically, I grabbed at the small red and white ball as it floated in the air away from me; however it zoomed back towards the High Chancellor's hand before I could stop it. He grabbed all three Pokéballs out of the air at once and set them on an empty table next to them, a white barrier like the one he had used to protect himself from Rayne's Hyper Beam appearing around them.

"You've known all along, haven't you?" Rayne asked. She didn't seem worried at all about having just lost her two Pokémon. Meanwhile, I was freaking out and twitching with indecision about whether I should try to get Fury back or not. On one hand, the High Chancellor was evidently far more powerful than I could imagine. On the other, I couldn't just let him take away Fury like that and not even _try_ to rescue him. After all we had been through together before I was accepted at The Pokémon Academy...

"These _Pokéballs_," he spat the word out as if it was a sin just to say it, "Are Arcana Energy based technology. They work by extracting the essence of its target and encasing it within a dimensional pocket created and sustained by Arcana Energy. The body is meanwhile disassembled, only to be reassembled upon activation, at which time the Abomination's essence is planted back in the new body which strictly mirrors its old one in every way. I can sense the Arcana Energy used to contain an Abomination's essence just a little less clearly than I can you. We can not have that."

"So, you want to kill our Pokémon, is that what this is all about?" Rayne asked, a hint of anger showing at last.

"Partially. I _do_ want to kill them; however, not yet. What benefit would it serve to kill them now, when I can kill them in front of all of my followers in just about an hour or so? However, I also want to make a...deal...with you."

"To save Fury?" I spoke up.

The High Chancellor chuckled as he shook his head. "No. Of course not. Rather, the deal is to save you two." The High Chancellor began to tap the fingers of his left hand on the throne's arm, his ring shining in the light. "You see, good channelers of Arcana Energy are hard to come by these days, the Great Art of controlling the life energy of existence virtually lost. Now, I have found someone naturally skilled with power that could rival even mine if trained properly. Do you think I want to just let you walk away?"

"You want me to join your cult?" Rayne spat.

"Precisely. Otherwise, you die. She has the same choice as well, although admittedly she is far less valuable because of her lack of any natural talent. You both have one hour to decide."

"The person who brought us here said your doctrines prevent you from harming any human unless they stand against you. We have done nothing," Rayne said.

"I _wrote_ those doctrines, and so I know how to bend the rules. Say no, and you will see how..."

"Is there no way I can save Fury? There has to be someway! You can't just murder him in cold blood!" I cried out desperately.

"Hmm..." The High Chancellor slowly stood up from his throne and walked down the dais towards us. Stopping in front of me, he held out his right index finger and lifted my chin up with it, so that I was starring at the shadows that hid his eyes. "This Fury, you really care for it, don't you, little girl?"

"Y..y...yes... Please..." I stuttered. I wasn't one to get scared, however being this close to such a powerful and ominous person sent shivers down my spine.

"Tell you what, you join us, and this Fury will die without pain, in seclusion, where you won't have to watch. You say no, and he'll die the slowest death of any Abomination I have ever killed, right in front of you, and before you die." The High Chancellor's voice was barely a whisper. Tears stained my eyes as I stared up into the darkness under his hood, lost to words.

"Who are you...?" I finally whispered. "Why are you doing this...?"

"Have you heard of the legend of the angel Zeruel?" The High Chancellor let go of my chin and crossed his arms behind his bask, clasping his wrists together and pacing in front of us with his head down.

"Angels..." Rayne's eyes snapped wide.

"Millions of years ago, before modern society was developed, the Earth was inhabited solely by humans and natural animals such as dogs and cats. Life was peace, and the world was perfect. However, up in the Heavens, the angel Zeruel looked down upon the Earth with contempt. Zeruel was the angel of power, and literally means "Arm of God." He wasn't a high ranking angel, though, despite his name; however he was very popular among many of the lower angels. When he looked down at Earth, he developed his own ideals of what a perfect world would be, and soon every single lower angel in the Heavens knew as well and supported his cause. You want to know what his brilliant scheme for Earth was? His scheme that changed the fate of the entire world?"

"He created Mew," Rayne said.

"Correct. He created a _single_ _Mew_ and a _single_ Apricorn seed. The higher angels did not learn of his plan in time, and he had already set them upon the world before anyone could intervene. The _Mew _quickly began to reproduce asexually, small changes being made to its DNA each time. Meanwhile, Apricorn trees began to grow all over the Earth, their fruit imbued with natural power that could contain these new creatures that were appearing everywhere. The process took millennia, but eventually _Pokémon_ were everywhere, and humans realized the power that the Apricorns held. It was only a matter of time before humans started to selfishly capture _Pokémon_, and used them to settle disputes instead of working them out through discussion. The root of _all_ of today's evil."

"So you think that by wiping out all Pokémon, society can return to the perfect utopia it was?" Rayne asked.

"Yes, for I have been told by God himself that it is my job alone to return the world to peace. There can be no exceptions made."

"You're delusional. Pokémon aren't the root of all evil! That just sounds like some disjointed fairytale! Killing them will achieve nothing, and is impossible, anyways!" I hissed.

"Not anymore." The High Chancellor smiled as he stopped pacing and turned to face us. "The key has finally been found, and not even Utheros or—" He suddenly paused and shook his head. "But, I have told you enough. It is time for you to start deciding your fates."

**End of Chapter 15**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Rayne**

"So...this is it. We've lost, and we never even got a chance to fight." I sighed and slid down the wall I was leaning against, looking at the palms of my hands as I flexed my fingers.

"Can't you do something? You have that...that 'Arcana' power thing." Aira asked from where she sat huddled in a corner of our dark cell. The only light came from a small slit in the solid rock door to my right.

"I'm too weak... A single...Hyper Beam...is enough to wear me out for days. I'd be putting my own life in danger if I pushed myself harder." I rolled my head back against the wall and thought back to when we had been stuck in the CORE base. To when I had overloaded the AEWG's power core, and blacked out from the strain I had imposed on my own body.

"But we can't just give in! Don't you care about Matariel and Oriel at all!"

"Of course I do, but I'm also realistic. They've already utterly lost, and there's no use panicking or crying over it. We...we still have a choice between two defeats..."

"You can't seriously be thinking of joining them! Just so _you_ can live, at the price of countless Pokémon's lives!"

I was silent and looked back down to my hands.

"State your names."

Looking up, I found that someone was standing behind the cell's door, looking at us through the small slit in it. "I suppose aliases won't help us now?" I asked.

The cell door silently slid upwards into the ceiling, black iron bars behind it continuing to block the entrance. The man who had spoken to us stood behind those bars, tall and dressed in the traditional Crimson Dawn cloak. His silver hair fell straight down the back of his head, while two fang-like bangs hung down on either side of his face. "I am Xylus. I asked you, what are your names?"

"Rayne," I said.

"Aira," she said.

"You are the one he spoke of." Xylus was looking at me, his narrow eyes a piercing silver color that matched his hair.

"What of it?"

"You lack training. I am a teacher of sorts here—although I may not be for much longer—and if you join us, you will train directly under me as my apprentice."

"You can channel this 'Arcana Energy'?"

"I can command the Great Art, yes. I will teach you many things if you join me, including how to control your own power."

"_If_ I become a murderer." I narrowed my eyes, staring Xylus down.

"The Great Art is not restrained only to destruction. There is no rule saying you have to harness its powers for murder."

"That is not what I meant."

Xylus didn't seem to hear me and continued as if I hadn't spoken. "You can use it to strengthen your own abilities, or to help mankind."

"What about Pokémon? If I join you, I will have to murder—"

Once again Xylus didn't seem to hear me and cut me off. "You can even..." Reaching out into the air with an open hand, he quickly closed it around a fly that had been buzzing around the bars of our cell door, a crunch signaling the fly's demise. "Manipulate life itself..." A bright flash of light seeped out between Xylus' fingers, and he opened his hand back up again, the fly jumping off his palm and flying away as if nothing had happened to it.

My eyes widened, and the world around me suddenly seemed to turn black. Still images flashed by my eyes; images of a forest, of a clearing, of a small girl kneeling in that clearing with her hands clasped to her eyes as she bent over something indistinguishable that lay in front of her, the grass turning red around them.

"_Child. There is much still for you to learn about yourself and your past. You must be strong, for your future is hard. Do not give up, for there is always a way..."_

The blackness suddenly seemed to wash away, my vision replaced by our cell once again. Xylus was gone, and the door closed, Aira huddled in her corner and watching me curiously. "It's not over yet," I mumbled as I sat back, awaiting my fate. "It's not over yet..."

* * *

**Shrike**

"Urg... Food, my one weakness..." I moaned, piles of dirty plates resting on the table around where I sat. As it had turned out, this place's cafeteria happened to be a free all you can eat buffet. Needless to say, I don't think the chefs had taken much to my being there.

"You...really like eating, don't you?" Rayth asked. I couldn't tell whether he was impressed, or disgusted.

"How'd you tell?" Scooting my chair back and away from the table, I stood up and stretched my arms and legs out. "So, how much time do we have left until this meeting starts?"

"About five minutes. I've been trying to tell you that we needed to be leaving for the last twenty." Rayth sighed, shaking his head.

"What! But...we have to be getting to wherever it is now!" Hastily I grabbed Rayth's arm and shot out the cafeteria's open doorway, into the tunnels that connected everything down here. "Which way!" I shouted as I came upon the first fork in the path.

"Left!" Rayth replied as I dragged him along behind me. "You think you can let go of me now?"

"Only if you can keep up with me," I said as I let go of Rayth's arm, he stumbling as he regained his balance and ran alongside me. "Can we make it in time?"

"We should, unless... Oh no!" Rayth suddenly stopped, but I didn't see why and so continued, only to end up running straight into a solid wall of rock.

_I've got to stop doing that..._ "Ow..." I stumbled back from the wall and rubbed my nose, readjusting my now crooked glasses. "I thought you knew your way around this place, so why is there a wall in our path?"

"I forgot that they were rerouting these tunnels... Don't worry, though; I know another way. We may not get there in time now..." Rayth mumbled.

"Well we can't just stand around then! Let's get moving!" I shouted, leaping up and grabbing Rayth's arm again, running back down the tunnel in the way we had come from. _I just have to get to that meeting! I can feel it... If I don't make it, something very bad is going to happen!_

"Which way!" I barked as I reached the fork near the cafeteria again, running faster than I had ever thought I could.

"Left! Left! And could you please let me go!" Rayth pleaded.

"No time for that!" _Aira... Rayne... I just know you'll be there... I'm coming!_

* * *

**Rayne**

"I thought you said it wasn't over yet..." Aira moaned as she stood next to me, her arms held behind her back and restrained with handcuffs as were mine. We were standing on a sort of stage, overlooking a large room filled with chairs. People cloaked in red had slowly been flooding into the room until it was almost completely filled; the floor below the stage a sea of red. To our right and in the center of the stage was a podium with a large book on top, the letters on its cover unreadable from where I stood.

I looked past that podium to the other side of the stage, where Aira was also looking at. Over on the opposite side of the stage from us three cages had been set up, and in each cage was one of our Pokémon. They were covered in red gashes that oozed bright blood and bruises were visible underneath their fur; they must have been tortured while we were waiting in our cell. Matariel was the only one of the three that was still standing, her legs shaking slightly from the effort it took. Both Oriel and Fury were on their sides, their chests barely moving as they breathed hard. They seemed to be unconscious, or maybe they were just playing it so as not to be hurt more.

Aira was struggling, trying to run over to Fury's cage; however rings of metal around our legs that were attached to the stage prevented us from moving. Aira whimpered sadly as she stared at Fury; his nearly motionless form appeared to be the worst off of the three of them.

"_I'm coming!"_

I started and looked around me, but didn't see anyone who could have said that. _I could have sworn that was Shrike just now..._ Suddenly, a shiver ran through my body and my eyes were drawn to the end of the room. I had just felt a burst of power unlike any I had felt before, and I could feel that it was getting closer. "It isn't over. Not yet," I replied to Aira, not like she was listening to me.

"I take it your restraints aren't too tight? There is no reason for us to be so cruel to humans, after all." Looking up, I found the High Chancellor standing over us. He was a good foot taller than either me or Aira, but his sheer presence and power made him seem ever bigger.

I decided to give him the silent treatment, and Aira was too busy struggling to pay him any attention.

"It will all be over soon enough, I assure you." The High Chancellor spun around and strode over to the podium, placing his hands on either side of it. As he took up his position there, the low din that had filled the room went silent as all the hundreds of pairs of eyes down below turned upon the High Chancellor.

Loudly, so that his voice carried out through the entire room, the High Chancellor began to speak. "My sons and daughters, I am so glad to finally be able to speak before you like this again. As you must know, I do not get these opportunities often. My search of these lands for the harbinger of the Crimson Dawn has taken up most of my time as of late, and for that I am sorry. However! My searches have _not_ been futile!"

The crowd of people began to whisper among themselves, until the High Chancellor spoke up again.

"I will get to those matters later. First, we have _these_ matters to attend to." The High Chancellor swept his arms out to either side of him; indicating me, Aira, and our Pokémon. "These poor Tainted and their wretched Abominations were found snooping around on our island. Of course, we _must_ exterminate the Abominations without delay; however we cannot blindly kill innocent humans without first giving them a chance at redemption."

At that last part, a few people in the crowd shouted angrily. Apparently the Crimson Dawn had split factions within itself that disagreed on specific details, the treatment of "Tainted" people being one.

The High Chancellor walked over to us, and just as before in his chambers lifted Aira's chin up to face him. "What do _you_ say to my proposal? Either join us, or die."

Silently, Aira glanced over at Fury's limp form, the words "I'm sorry" appearing on her lips. "Never," she said quietly, her eyes looking downcast. "I will never become a murderer. I'd rather die!"

The High Chancellor grinned. "Very well. You?" He let go of Aira's chin and turned to me. I knew what answer he wanted, but still not what _I_ wanted.

"I... I..." I was lost and confused, just like three years ago when I woke up on the fringes of a forest, Matariel standing next to me, protecting me.

"_You can even...manipulate life itself..."_

"I... I will—"

"AIRA! RAYNE!"

All eyes in the room were drawn to the doors at the far end, which had been thrown open, two figures standing in the doorway. One of them had his hands clasped to his knees as he panted, before looking up and straight at us, his glasses shining in the light. "I'm here."

* * *

**Shrike**

All eyes were on me as I walked down the aisle towards the stage. I didn't know what I intended to do, but I could see that Aira, Rayne, and their Pokemon didn't look to be in the best situation. I reached the stage they were on and mounted the stairs, panting as I stared at the tall man who stood in front of Aira and Rayne, his red robe and hood hiding all his features.

"And so, the next piece of the puzzle has arrived. I was wondering when you'd show up," the man said, stepping away from the girls.

"JC, do you know the High Chancellor?" Rayth asked as he ran up behind me. _So that's who this guy is..._

"No, I have no idea how he could have been waiting for me."

"Hmph, so you are even more ignorant than she was. I suppose he hasn't told you much, if anything at all." The High Chancellor sounded slightly annoyed, but before anything else could be said, a blue light suddenly shone from under the cloak I was wearing.

Frowning, I threw back the cloak I had "borrowed," exposing my belt and Pokéballs on it and eliciting a gasp from Rayth who stumbled backwards. I was too busy staring at the first Pokéball on my belt, which was shining a bright blue and shaking about, to care though.

Suddenly the Pokéball fell off my belt by itself, opening up in a burst of dazzling blue light as a Cyndaquil formed out of it.

"Zethro! What's going on!" I asked as I bent down and picked the Pokéball up, however I gave a double take as I noticed Zethro's eyes; they were wide open and glowing blue instead of their normal red. It reminded me of a psychic Pokémon using a psychic attack; however I had never known Cyndaquils to be able to do that before.

Zethro began to slowly walk towards the High Chancellor as if in a trance, and I hurriedly tried to recall him back into his Pokéball. However, the red beam that shot from its tip touched Zethro's body and instead of recalling him, reflected off him as if he was a mirror.

"Giana emet lanlyif ew os." The words came from Zethro, however I didn't understand a part of it. Thinking that my translator was messing up, I rubbed my ear some. Perhaps running into that wall had broken it.

The High Chancellor grinned and chuckled. "Why, I had not been expecting that. What a coincidence... It appears I _was_ right..."

"Eneb ti ahs areys anmy ohw? Rakd nurdet gilht fo ahpt het nisec areys anmy ohw?" Once again they were from Zethro, and once again I couldn't understand it.

The High Chancellor slowly shook his head and shrugged. "What are you getting at? Time matters not, and you should know that."

"Giana tikemas asem het akem ont liwl i! Eaftde ot lalf ont liwl, Zethro, i meti isth!" Flames suddenly burst out of Zethro's back, and there was a blast of heat as flames erupted out of the ground around him in a tight circle. The fire shot up into the air fiercer than any blaze I had ever seen Zethro create before, almost up to the ceiling even.

"Do you have a death wish? Is that it? You are nothing," the High Chancellor spat, crossing his arms across his chest like an X. Twin beams of light suddenly shot upwards from the palm of each of his hands, the white light turning gold in color and gradually changing into two twin, curved, single-edged katana-like swords. The hilt, V-shaped cross-guard, and blade were all gold as with all the other weapons I had seen these people use; however the blades of both of the High Chancellor's swords were completely covered in complex runes and patterns, in contrast to Rayth's bare dagger and the silver-haired guy I had met outside with a blade that was partially covered.

"Nwi notanc oyu tath nowk oyu. Romf pisurero a orf woerp pisurero faisecdric oyu."

The High Chancellor scowled at whatever it was Zethro has said and suddenly charged forward, swinging his swords out to either side of him as he ran. Leaping into the air, he spun around and brought the swords down on Zethro at once as he landed, before launching into a flurry of strokes; however, a blue-tinted sphere of frosty white light had appeared around the Cyndaquil, each sword stoke solidly colliding with it and having no effect on Zethro. Landing one final blow upon the sphere, the High Chancellor back flipped through the air and landed a short distance away. Amazingly, his hood was still covering his face.

"Shrike. Go now. Rescue your companions. I cannot distract him forever." I gave a start as I realized Zethro was speaking to me understandably again. Yet, his voice sounded different...deeper and bolder.

While...whatever that had been...went on between Zethro and the High Chancellor, the mass of people below had acted as if nothing special was going on, Rayth having disappeared to who knows where. As I made a move towards where Aira and Rayne were standing, a couple people began to rise from their chairs, however the High Chancellor gave a small shake of his head and they sat back down.

The High Chancellor flew back into another attack on Zethro, but I was more concerned with Aira and Rayne at the moment. Zethro, while acting decidedly weird and unlike himself, seemed to be able to protect himself well enough.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked them as I reached where they bound to the floor, shrugging off the cloak I had been wearing since it was only hindering me know.

Rayne shook her head. "I was just about to ask you the same question. Zethro...I cannot understand what he is saying, for some reason."

"Neither can I; I suppose it's not the Pokécom screwing up, since you don't even have one after all. But, what's that shield thing, and where did those swords come from? Why does Zethro look possessed?" I looked at the handcuff things that were attached to Aira and Rayne's wrists behind their backs. They appeared to be a simple circle of metal around each wrist with a simple chain connecting them, but that was the problem; they were _too_ simple. There was no keyhole or anything I could see to open them with.

"I will explain as best I can later. Now is not the time for questions."

"Okay, but how do I—"

"If I could touch the chain, I can unlock these handcuffs myself. I saw how they were put on, and so know how to take them off."

"Like this?" I took Rayne's left hand and guided it so that her fingertips were just barely touching the chain. She closed her eyes for a moment, when suddenly the rings of metal on her wrists each split open and the handcuffs fell to the ground. "How did you—"

"Later." Rayne bent down to her feet and touched the chain that connected her feet together and to the floor, it falling off as well.

"Shrike! Please, go help Fury..." Aira moaned as Rayne fussed with her handcuffs.

"Say, about them, why are they in cages like that?" I asked as I looked over at the cages Aira's and Rayne's worn-looking Pokémon were in. Glancing over at Zethro and the High Chancellor, I saw that he was still going psycho on Zethro, who was just standing there silently as the sphere protected him from harm.

"They were to be executed, but now it appears we have our chance to escape." Rayne said as she set off running to the cages, Aira's bindings removed. _My life... When did I ask for this? Escaping from an evil cult who wants to execute our Pokémon was not in the job description of being a trainer..._ Grabbing Aira's hand I jogged after Rayne, past where the High Chancellor seemed to be intent on killing Zethro for no obvious reason.

"Why aren't any of them trying to stop us?" I pondered, noticing that the congregation of Crimson Dawn members didn't seem to care that their prisoners were escaping.

"They will only do whatever their High Chancellor commands while in his presence. As he has not told them to detain us—yet—they will not," Rayne said as she knelt next to Matariel's cage.

_What is he? A god to them?_ I rushed over to Fury's cage and grimaced as I looked at the unconscious Houndour laying inside; he definitely needed medical treatment immediately. Aira reached through the bars and smoothed out a section of his fur around a particularly nasty looking and bloody gash, through which the slick muscles underneath his flesh were visible. In doing so, Aira got some blood on her fingers, but she seemed to ignore it as tears welled up in her eyes upon seeing her Pokémon in such a condition. I tugged on the bars of the cage some, but they wouldn't move and once again there was no visible lock. "Um, Rayne? Could you open this up?"

"In a second." I looked up to find that both Matariel and Oriel's cages were open, and that Rayne was walking back from a small table which was set up in the corner of the stage, three Pokéballs held in one hand, her backpack slung across her back, and Aira's held in her other hand.

"Were those there all along...? Why even bother opening up the cages at all?"

"Why don't you try and find out?" Rayne tossed one of the Pokéballs at me, and I shrugged as I held it out and pressed the button on it. A beam of red light shot from the button towards Fury's cage, but it suddenly reflected off some sort of invisible barrier just like when I had tried recalling Zethro. _Will I ever understand how this place works...?_ I handed the Pokéball to Aira and turned back to watch the "fight" between Zethro and the High Chancellor; it wasn't really progressing any since Zethro was doing absolutely nothing, but I had to admire the style and grace with which the High Chancellor was pulling off his attacks, even if they were having no effect on Zethro.

_Is it a bad thing that I'm admiring an enemy?_

"Fury!" I turned back around to find that Rayne had opened Fury's cage up, both Matariel and Oriel back inside their Pokéballs. Aira was cradling the limp form of the Houndour in her arms, her head resting on his as tears streamed from her eyes.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. As soon as we get out of here we'll get him to a Pokémon Center," I soothingly said, resting a hand on Aira's left shoulder. She looked up at me with tear stained eyes and nodded, before cuddling Fury for a moment longer. Reaching down to the Pokéball she had dropped to the floor, she picked it back up and Fury disappeared inside of it, leaving behind only smears of blood streaked across Aira's clothes.

"Well, it's time to be leaving now, I suppose. Only one matter left. Zethro, let's go!" I grabbed his Pokéball off my waist and tried to recall him again, only to have the beam wildly reflected. "Oh, yeah... That's right..."

Zethro glanced over at me, before looking back up at the High Chancellor who had stopped his onslaught. "Ned na ot omec ahs emetnig ibref uro tath persapa ti. Meti tenx deray nwasp oryu vahe ot ryt od nda, raleflew." Zethro quickly turned away from the High Chancellor and ran across the stage towards me, his eyes still wide open and glowing blue. "Run. We must hurry and be swift in our escape. There is a door hidden in the wall to the left. We will use it."

"What's gotten into you?" I asked as I picked Zethro up from the ground and held him in my arms. He felt normal, but his creepy blue eyes were definitely not right.

"A better question is _who_ are you?" Rayne asked as we ran over to the left wall and I pressed a button on it that I quickly found, a door swinging open that we then ran through. Looking back, I saw the High Chancellor standing there, silently watching our escape as his swords disappeared.

"I am Zethro," Zethro simply said.

"Well duh, that's pretty obvious..." Continuing to glance behind me as we ran, I frowned. _Why isn't anyone following us? Does the High Chancellor not care about us anymore? Or...maybe..._ "This has all been planned... He's not trying to stop us, as whatever goals he had in mind have already been met..." I whispered to myself.

"Correct. He only wanted to get a look at me for confirmation. I gave him what he wanted, so he cares about us no more for the time being," Zethro responded.

"Except he said that he could make no exceptions; that our Pokémon must die. Yet, they are still alive. By letting us go, he is breaching his own codes." Rayne's eyes narrowed as she spoke.

"It is too early for Matariel and Oriel to die."

"Why are you talking like this? You don't sound like yourself at all. And seriously, why are your eyes glowing?" I asked.

"Left," Zethro quickly blurted out as we came upon an intersection. "I suppose it is only just to inform you, but I cannot tell you all there is to the matter at the moment. My name _is_ Zethro, however I am not _the_ Zethro as you know. I am a spirit with the ability to bond with certain life forms until they die, and it was this Cyndaquil I bonded with at the moment of its birth; using psychic powers to influence its given name. Being bonded with a body gives me its full sensory perception, and I am also able to take over complete control when I wish, as I have now done. No more questions for now. Our priority is to escape alive."

"Wait, what? A spirit?" I was a bit shocked at the revelation. "Is this a joke?"

"Why would I joke about such matters?" Zethro, or, well, the spirit named Zethro or whatever said.

"After that scene between you and the High Chancellor back there, I may just believe you..." I sighed. "How are we going to get out of here, though? I suppose we should worry about that question first."

"Correct. Our escape is of the highest priority."

"But we're on an island..." Aira sounded miserable, and drifted closer to me as we ran.

"There are boats somewhere. They mentioned so before we met with the High Chancellor," Rayne's eyes seemed to narrow further every time she spoke; her black hair streaming out behind her as she ran; the fastest out of all of us.

"Correct. There is an underwater boat dock with submersible vehicles capable of converting to standard motorboats below us. I have plotted our course towards it."

_He talks almost like a computer... And how does he know the layout of this place? Well, I suppose it's possible that he may have been here before he "bonded" with Zethro. Regardless, it's useful as I don't know how we'd find our way out otherwise._ "Wait, I want to stop by that room where I dropped off my stuff at."

"I have included that room in our route."

I looked over at Aira, running next to me, and saw that she was crying again. I rested my left hand on her shoulder and she stumbled slightly as she looked up at me. "As I said, Fury will be alright now. There's no need to cry about it anymore."

"It's just...we've been together for so long." She looked up at me, a hint of red in her cheeks. "Ever since I found him scrounging for food among garbage we've watched each other's backs. But this time...I couldn't keep him from being hurt... I broke my promise..."

"Garbage? So Fury was a stray?"

"Yes. Just as much of a stray as I was...ever since that day about eight years ago..." Aira hesitated for a second, tears dripping from her eyes and marking a trail of tear drops behind her as she ran. "He was just as much of a stray as I was once I turned the streets into my home..."

"Wait, why were you living on the streets? Don't you have parents?"

"They were murdered." My heart froze as she said that word, and up ahead I saw Rayne nod her head as if she had known it all along. "My parents and the Pokémon they had put so much effort into training... They were all murdered in cold blood right before my very eyes, just about eight years ago..." Her voice quieted to a whisper. "By who very well may have been these same people we're running from now."

**End of Chapter 16**


	17. Chapter 17

_Gah, so sorry about the long wait everyone! My life just went a little crazy, so I decided to take a break... But, it's here now :D_

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**Shrike**

"I was only six when it happened... When my parents were killed... I hardly even knew what murder was at the time..." Aira spoke quietly and with her eyes nearly closed, being guided along by my hand on her shoulder. "This person, the murderer, they broke into our house while we slept. I woke up, and followed them into my parents' room. They just stood there for a moment, before reaching under their cloak and pulling out a dagger in one hand, and a gun in the other."

"Two? Why'd they need two weapons?" I asked.

Aira shook her head, her long, light blue hair waving out behind her as she ran by the guide of my hand. "They used the dagger to kill my parents' Pokémon, and the gun to kill my parents themselves. As for why, I have no clue."

"Into this room. Wait for ten seconds. There is someone coming up behind us," Zethro said from my arms, pointing at a door in the wall near us. Rayne was in the lead as usual and closest to the door, so she quickly opened it and rushed into the room ahead of Aira and me. I followed, finding out that the room appeared to be some sort of small closet.

As the door closed behind us I just now noticed the sound of footsteps in the direction we had been coming from. Quietly I whispered to Aira, "Your parents had Pokémon? Were they trainers?"

"Yes. Amanda and Anthony Andrews, my parents, and two of the best trainers in their category. Have you heard of them?" The ten seconds passed, and the footsteps outside the room faded away. Zethro nodded his head to indicate we should continue our escape, and so I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

"Hmm... I think I do remember hearing about some trainers by those names; their specialty was double battles, working together as a team, right? Wait...Andrews? Why do they have a different last name than you?" I asked as we began to run again, Rayne taking up the lead and leaving me and Aira behind her as before.

"I changed my last name. It would be hard to hide if people knew who I was related to. And, yes, they did always battle alongside each other; they were inseparable." Aira seemed to be getting over whatever emotions she was feeling, and was now staring ahead down the hallway with no need for my hand to guide her. I kept my hand on her shoulder anyways.

"Why'd you need to hide? Did the person try to kill you too? Couldn't you have gone to the police in that case?"

Aira paused before continuing. "My entire family—I always considered my parent's Pokémon to be a part of the family—was murdered in front of my eyes. I was scared, and, yes, I feared I would be killed too, so I ran away before anyone could find me. I fled to the streets and alleys, adopted a new last name, and started a new life. When I heard that people were looking for me, I only retreated further into Petalburg's dark heart. I took to the shadows, and quickly learned how to hide myself and escape on foot easily." Aira quietly chuckled and shook her head. "I later learned that those people were the police and only wanted to help, not kill me."

"So you mean that all your time living on the street was because of a big misunderstanding? Man, that'd be terrible..."

Aira was quiet for a brief moment while we ran around a corner in the hall at Zethro's direction. "There are...other reasons that made me run away too. Besides, I never would have met Fury otherwise." She dropped her head and stared at the ground while we ran.

"Wait, what else..." I noticed that Aira seemed to have withdrawn into herself, and knew that I wouldn't get any more answers out of her. Perhaps it was better anyway; I didn't want to be too intrusive. "Never mind. You don't have to tell me if you don't feel like it."

"Perhaps there will come a better time..." She whispered.

"You two done? Now is really not the time to spill your guts," Rayne truthfully said from up ahead, where she was peering around a corner.

"The stairs down to the boat docks are close." Zethro said.

"Wait, what about my stuff?" I asked, worrying over the fact that everything I had was currently locked in that one room.

"It's to your right, right there." Zethro squirmed a little in my arms to point out a door in the wall.

"Wha...? Oh..." I said as I opened the rock door next to me. _My memory must really be going; I thought I was good at remembering stuff like this... I must have been too preoccupied with Aira to notice where we were._ I felt another shiver like before run through my body as I pressed the button, and Rayne quickly glanced up at me.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"I just felt it, when you pushed that button... What exactly does that button do?"

"Well, open the door, I suppose... I think there's a computer that somehow scans me in some way to verify my identity, as the room is somehow keyed to me. What's 'it' that you felt?"

"A computer... No, it's much simpler then that." Rayne shook her head.

"Just how much did I miss?" I asked Aira as I sighed.

"I think she means that it's controlled by this thing called 'Arcana Energy.' I have no clue what that is, but Rayne seems to. It's some sort of 'life energy' or something. That was all I got out of what the High Chancellor spoke to us about it, at least."

_Will Rayne _ever_ tell us what's up with her? How is she able to do all this stuff?_ I ducked into my room while Rayne and Aira waited outside, relaxing as I found my backpack where I had left it, untouched. Momentarily setting Zethro down on the bed, I slung the backpack over my shoulders before picking him up again. I rushed back out of the room and nodded to Rayne, who shot around the corner without even saying anything. Aira and I hurried to catch up to her, as we continued our journey in silence broken only by the sound of Zethro barking out directions.

* * *

Somewhat to my disappointment, although I knew it was for the better, the rest of our journey through the Crimson Dawn's base went without a hitch. Whether it was that the High Chancellor simply didn't care about us escaping or that we were extremely lucky I couldn't say. It was a bit of an anticlimax, though... _Reality is boring..._

"The boat dock is just ahead," Zethro said as we ran down a hall that looked just the same as every other one in here.

"Seems like we'll get out of here with no problems," I said, happy that we were safe even if nothing exciting had happened. "A short trip to Dewford, and Fury will be as good as normal. Who knows, the beaches may even make him feel _better_ than normal!" I patted Aira's shoulder and she smiled up at me, nodding.

"Despite being a fire type he's always loved playing in water," she said, reaching a hand into the pocket she had put Fury's Pokéball in.

"Wish I could say the same for Zethro." Looking down at the blue-eyed Cyndaquil I was holding, I quickly added "Well, when he's not possessed, at least."

"I am not possessing this body, just asserting control over it."

_Is there any difference...?_

"Halt. You will not take one step farther."

"Stop!" Zethro suddenly yelled at the sound of the mysterious voice.

Stumbling forward a step, I stopped and looked around for the source of the voice. Rayne had also stopped and was looking about alertly, snapping her head in every direction, looking like she was ready for a fight at any second. Aira grasped my shoulder and I could hear her breathing speed up. A moment passed in silence with nothing happening. Thinking that perhaps whatever it was that had wanted us to stop had passed, I took a single step forward and almost had my foot cut off by a crescent-shaped blade of air that collided with the floor directly in front of my foot.

"As I said, you will not take one step farther, even if that means I will have to render you physically unable to." Out of the shadows in the corner where the hall turned to the right, the source of the voice stepped forward. There was nothing that unusual about his clothing when compared to the other Crimson Dawn followers—just a red cloak over a white shirt and pants—however I immediately knew that he was on a higher level than the other people we had seen. The primary factor adding to that conception was what he was carrying in his right hand and rested against his shoulder: a large claymore longer and more intimidating than any of the weapons we had seen here thus far. Its hilt was a full foot long and its impressively large and wide golden blade three and a quarter feet in length.

He flipped his single braid of hair back over his left shoulder—the rest of his head was shaved except for that one braid that ran from the top of his forehead, over his skull, and down to a few inches below his shoulders. "I have been ordered by his holiness, the Blessed Light of the Occult, to stop your progress and detain you. If you resist, I will use force as per instructions." He hefted the claymore up and spun it around so the blade pointed to his left, grabbing its hilt with both hands and holding it in front of his chest, sliding his right foot backwards.

I could almost feel the sheer power emanating from this guy, and knew that we stood little chance on our own. We'd managed to get this far though, so... "Hey, Zethro, what should—"

"What's going on...? Where am I...?"

I gasped as I looked down at Zethro and saw that his eyes were no longer glowing. _He left us! Right when we need him!_ I thought angrily. "We're trying to get out of the Crimson Dawn base. Apparently, you had been possessed and the bastard who did so has left us for now." Staring at the man who faced us and blocked our way I gulped. I couldn't let us be captured again... Not this time. I reached down to my side and pulled off two Pokéballs from my belt. "No choice. Ramiel! Jehiel!"

The balls split open as I threw them into the air, the Zigzagoon and Electrike appearing out of them in a flash of light. Ramiel yelped and happily ran up to my legs, rubbing against them, before he looked up at my arms and the Cyndaquil held in them.

"I thought you said that you'd call on me first if you needed help, Papa..." Ramiel whined, his ears flattening against his head.

"Well, uh, about that..." _Is this _really_ the time to be worrying about this!_

"Master, who is this guy? What's that he's holding? Is it one of those 'sharp-edged blades' you mentioned before? If he wants to pick a fight with us I'll rip his lungs out and feed them back to him before tearing his spine in two!" Jehiel growled, spreading his legs apart and ruffling up his fur, making him appear bigger than he really was.

"Shrike, are you out of your mind!" Rayne gasped, rushing forward next to me. "You stand no chance if you take him on this way! None of your Pokémon can be much more than a year old!" Glancing at Ramiel, who neither she nor Aira had seen before, she added "And that one—Ramiel, right?—is just a pup!"

"She is right, you know!" Aira said frantically, stepping over to the other side of me, opposite from Rayne. "We can find another way out of this!" Unable to resist, she quickly bent down and scratched Ramiel's head—who was confused by the new humans—before straightening back up as if doing so had been some sort of crime.

"I must not bow before danger... I must not give into defeat..." I knew I was being extremely irrational in this, but it felt like the right thing to do deep inside.

"Enough! You wish to stand before me and fight? This will end with one stroke!" The man suddenly lashed out at the air with his claymore, slicing through it horizontally. His slice seemed to somehow turn the air around his blade into a wind so powerful it could be considered a blade in its own right, flying at it us in a crescent-shape as before when I almost lost my foot.

"Brother! This is madness!" Another person suddenly leapt out from the hall down which the boat dock lay, a flurry of gold streaming though the air as a blade was unsheathed and the person fell into the path of the wind blade, striking at it with his own sword and deflecting the wind up at the ceiling. A small stream of rocks tumbled down as the new person sheathed their short blade, all three actions with it—unsheathing, deflecting the wind blade, and sheathing again—having been one smooth, continuous motion. "What has come over you to act like this?"

"Rayth?" I gasped as I recognized who this person who had just saved us was.

The guy with the claymore, who I now knew to be Reich Ranthos, laughed. "What has come over _me_? What has come over _you_! You just saved those three Abominations and their Tainted masters! Is it not our supreme goal to destroy them all?"

Rayth paused, and I realized he didn't even know why he had just saved us. "The abominations, maybe, but there is no reason to kill people as well like you just tried to! What happened? You are not the brother I knew anymore!"

"It is best if you think of them not as people, but as Tainted, dear Brother Rayth."

"Fine then, but there's still no reason to kill these tainted!" Rayth then quickly and quietly whispered to me, "Hide your...Pokémon. Put them back in those ball things."

Eager to oblige now that my senses were returning to me, I recalled all three of my Pokémon into their Pokéballs. "Your brother makes a good point. Why _are_ you protecting those you oppose?"

"...That I cannot say..." Without another word Rayth suddenly charged forward, tackling Reich against the wall with surprising force and grabbing his wrists, squeezing them until the claymore fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Come on! This way!" I shouted, taking off down the hall to the docks. This was our chance, our _final_ chance to escape. _It's time to ditch this place already!_

"Those two people, aren't they the ones from Petalburg?" Rayne said as she jogged alongside me, all three of us now running as fast as we could.

"Yeah... It's strange, though... How Rayth has decided to help us all of the sudden..."

"Maybe he had a change of heart?" Aira suggested.

Rayne scoffed and stayed silent on the matter, while I merely shrugged. "Who knows? It's pointless to speculate like this about a person we don't know all too well."

"Hey, is that the end?" Aira asked, looking down the hallway intently.

Narrowing me eyes, a smile split across my face as I saw what seemed to be a door with a blue-tinted light streaming through it up ahead. "Looks like it." I glanced behind us, but didn't see any sign of pursuit. "And it looks like we'll actually make it this time."

"And then we'll get Fury to a Pokémon Center?"

"Of course, now let's get out of here already!"

Blowing through the door, I found myself in the underwater boat dock that I had begun to fear we would never reach. I had seen pictures of such structures before so I knew what to expect, but I still found myself stopping and looking about me with my mouth gaping wide. The cavernous room was cut in half down the middle, at where the floor disappeared and was replaced by the shimmering surface of water. Walking over to the edge of the water, I bent down and stared through its crystal clear depths, making out the tunnel in the far wall below the water's surface which undoubtedly let out to the ocean.

"It's beautiful..." Aira said, walking over to the edge of the water and looking down at it next to me. "I don't think I've ever seen any water so clear."

"Now that we're here, does anyone actually know how to drive one of these things?" Rayne asked, getting straight to the point as she pointed to one of the boats that I had only momentarily glanced at before looking at the water.

I walked out a short ways on one of the piers that ran between the four identical boats, placing my hand on the side of one. I had almost been afraid they'd turn out to be made of rock, but fortunately they appeared to be made out of normal materials. They didn't look like any other kind of boat I had seen before, though. Their bodies were shaped like flattened capsules, the bottom hull a silver metal and extremely smooth, while the top half was completely enclosed by what seemed to be Plexiglas, or something similar to it, at least. Below the water I could see what looked like some sort of wing-like fins on either side of the boat, with two propellers situated at the stern and nearly flat with the hull, the engine being built inside the capsule-like body.

"Well, uh, it can't be that hard..." I mumbled, looking for the way to get inside the boat. Finally, I found a portion of the metal hull that pressed in when I touched it firmly enough, splitting in half and sliding to either side to reveal a handle underneath it. Grasping the handle I pulled it up and turned it, a hiss of air escaping from inside the boat. Pressing the handle back in again, the Plexiglas top of the boat split open lengthwise, sliding down into the hull and leaving the top open. "See, I managed to get it open. Besides, I'm sure I can remember something..."

"What do you mean? What are you sure you can remember?"

"Well, how to drive one of these things." Grabbing onto the side of the now open boat, I jumped into the first of the two rows of seats inside, taking up the driver's position behind the steering wheel, which resembled a standard car's, and looking over the various gauges and controls. "It's been a while."

"Wait, you mean that _you_ know how to _drive_ one of these things!" Rayne seemed shocked at the minor revelation, while Aira just seemed impatient to get out of here.

"Not specifically _this_ boat, nor really any other kind of submersible, but my dad owns a speedboat. Well, we weren't always so distant, and he made it a habit to teach me various things when I was young, one of them being how to drive. Both cars and boats."

"So...how long ago was that, exactly?"

"About four years, give or take a few months. Probably give." I prodded a red button on the dashboard, knowing that it was always the red button that activated some special weapons system or something. Much to my dismay all that it did was control the height of the seat I was sitting on.

"But, that would mean you were...TEN! You were driving a _boat_ at ten years old!"

"Not so much _driving_, my dad rightfully didn't think I possessed the coordination needed to control all aspects of the boat at once. It was more so _steering_, while Father controlled the rest of the controls. Sometimes we'd trade off if he wanted to take me through some place which required precision steering."

"Nevertheless!"

"Are we leaving this place, or do you _want_ to stand around and talk about my previous boating experiences?"

"Shouldn't we ensure it has enough fuel? We don't want to be in the middle of the ocean and get stranded again..." Aira said as she looked over the racks of various charts and unfamiliar boat parts that lined the walls.

"Yeah, good thinking. Hmm... That's odd... I don't _see_ a fuel gauge here..." I looked over all the gauges and readouts I could find, but none of them seemed to serve as any sort of familiar indication of how much gas was left in the tank. "Maybe it's back on the engine housing..." I clambered over the back of my seat and the other that sat behind the front one, kneeling over the metal box that filled the back third of the boat, and which I could only assume housed the engine and perhaps some computer systems.

"Hey, what's this?" Aira had picked up what looked like some sort of short crystal rod off a shelf and was holding it up to the light. It was completely transparent, and almost looked like plastic or glass.

"No ide—hey! Maybe this is it!" I had found a small circular panel, just slightly larger than the width of my thumb, in the engine housing. A small tab on the bottom of it hinted that it could be flipped open, and so I did so. Beneath was a small circular well with twenty lights ringed around it, five of which were currently lit a bright green color. As I opened the hatch, I heard a mechanical hum emanating from the well and suddenly a short crystalline rod popped out of it. Carefully I pulled the short rod out of the slot that held it and looked it over. Glancing at Aira as she examined the rod she had found, I realized that they were the same, although the one I held was noticeably shorter. "Hey, Aira, can I see that?" I called out.

"Oh, sure." She walked over out onto the pier and handed the rod to me, which I sat next to the shorter one I had lain on the engine housing. "Hey, that one's about a quarter the size of the one I found. Wonder why," she observed.

"Fuel shaped like solid rods?" I murmured. "That must be it, these rod things are the fuel these boats use, although I have no idea _what_ they are... I mean, I don't know what else you'd put in engine and that depletes as used..." I took the shorter rod and slid it back into the slot it came from as far as I could, some mechanism inside catching the rod and drawing it even farther down. Flipping the lid on the fuel slot closed, I clambered back over the seats to the front of the boat and the steering wheel. Now that I knew the circle of lights as on the engine housing was the fuel gauge for this boat, I noticed that among the gauges around the steering wheel there was one of them as well, also one-quarter lit. "I don't know how long one of those lasts, but try to find as many as you can. Oh, and are those paper maps?"

"Yeah." Rayne took one down from a rack and unrolled it, looking it over. "This one's of the area around this island, and shows how to get through the water currents from underneath the water's surface."

"Antique, but useful. Bring that too. We'll need it until we get out of the electromagnetic interference that surrounds the island."

"Here are all the ones I could find. Do you think these are enough?" Aira rushed back to me, holding out ten more of the fuel rods in addition to the one she had discovered earlier.

"That should be plenty. Hurry up and get in now, I'm just itching to get out of here..." I impatiently tapped my right leg as Aira climbed over the side of the boat and into the seat next to me, while Rayne claimed the entire seat behind us to herself.

"I think you're just eager to drive again..." Rayne sighed as she looked over the map some more.

I coughed and stopped the bouncing of my leg. "Yeah...well! Let's get this show on the road!" I reached for a key to turn on the dashboard, only to suddenly realize that this boat didn't have one and I had no idea how to start it. "Uh, a little help?"

"What am I supposed to do? I thought you knew how to drive boats." Rayne set the map aside and looked over the back of my seat at the dashboard.

"Well, I do, once they're running..."

"If it's anything like the rest of this place..." Rayne reached across and placed her hand on a conspicuously open spot on the dashboard, a faint hum starting up from the engine as she touched it.

"Er... What do you call that again?" I asked, starting to realize that all these things she had done such as open her handcuffs and her Pokémon's cages had all been her doing the same thing.

"Utilizing Arcana Energy by sending a small burst of power into what I touch. Mind closing the top of this thing now?"

"Ah, that 'life energy' Aira mentioned..." I found another handle like the one on the outside of the boat and pulled it upwards and twisted it, this time the Plexiglas top of the boat sliding up from the sides and enclosing us inside what was now a full-fledged submersible, although admittedly one that didn't seem like it could survive at any very deep depths. Pushing the handle back in a hiss of air signaled that the boat was now airtight and pressurized.

Suddenly wondering about our air supply while underwater, I noticed three canister shaped icons on the dashboard that were flashing blue, only to suddenly all turn solid green, the left one with a yellow outline around it. Surmising that they were icons indicating three compressed air canisters to supply the cabin with air, I felt satisfied at last and experimentally adjusted a few of the knobs and levers by very small amounts to see what they did. Finding the levers that controlled throttle and buoyancy I nodded.

"Alright! We're out of here!" I said excitedly, flicking a switch that reversed the engine's output as I slowly increased the throttle, the boat steadily backing away from the dock. When the front of the boat had cleared the piers, I eased off the throttle slightly and spun the wheel around sharply, bringing the boat to face away from the dock. "Hope none of us here are afraid of being submerged under water..." I murmured as I flicked the engine back into forward drive and began to decrease the buoyancy of the boat.

The water level around us seemed to rise as we sank below the surface, the shimmering water coming to encase the boat completely. Because of the boat's clear top, the visibility around us was excellent, and if I didn't have to worry about driving this thing I probably would have just gaped in amazement, as Aira besides me was doing.

"This is so cool..." She said as she pressed her face against the Plexiglas. Rayne was still studying the map and I had no idea if she even knew that we were no longer in the dock.

"Hey, you might want to keep your face off that. I don't want you to bump against it too hard and break it."

"The force needed to break this material is far more than a bump of a human head could provide," Rayne said. "You would need to ram into a wall to provide a jolt with enough force, and we'd have bigger problems to worry about if that happened."

"You're not helping any..." I grumbled as I slowly adjusted the buoyancy until we were floating at the level of the tunnel that led out of the island and to the ocean. "But, this is no time to argue anyways! We're finally getting out of this place and while it may not have been the most _fun_ experience ever, it didn't really permanently hurt any of us in the long run, and has taught us some valuable information." I grinned and quietly added, "Plus we've now got this sweet boat..."

Making sure that we were lined up with the tunnel and weren't going to run into any rocks or anything, I began to increase the throttle again, speeding into the tunnel and navigating through the fairly straight path, a spot of light quickly widening in the distance. "To the open sea!" I shouted as we flew out of the tunnel and into the ocean, Rayne quickly becoming a back seat driver as she told me exactly how to navigate to get through the water currents that were all around the island.

Little did I know that our departure wasn't so secretive. Sitting on a rock above the tunnel's exit, a figure clothed in silver sat, watching the dark shape of our boat underneath the clear water. Adjusting the katana strapped to the left side of his waist he pushed a strand of silver hair back over his left shoulder, watching our escape with piercing silver eyes.

* * *

**Elsewhere...**

_Beep beep beep beep. Beep beep beep beep. Beep beep be—_

The beeping noise cut off as a young man pressed a button on the computer terminal he sat at—one of three stationed around the room—his eyes scanning over the screen before him. "Call coming in, sir. It's from Lord Fira himself." The young man was amazed at this sender, and hoped that he'd be allowed to hear the conversation.

"Put him on speaker," the oldest looking man in the room said, standing behind a metal railing that created a foot wide gap between it and the thick pane of glass overlooking the room below, through which the man was looking as his arms were held folded behind his back.

A video feed from the call was projected into the glass, the image of Lord Fira, his body wrapped in a black cloak as he sat inside what appeared to be some aircraft's cockpit, seemingly appearing in the middle of the glass and moving over to face the standing man.

"It is good to see his majesty well and safe. We have all been worrying since the...incident...at laboratory thirteen." A sneer twisting on the very corner of the man's lips, he continued to say, "A fitting name for a facility that met its end in such a grandiose manner."

"You would hardly be calling it grandiose if you had been there at the time. Might I remind you of your position _commander_ Duckett." Lord Fira's tongue was sharp, and the young man monitoring his computer terminal winced even though the words weren't directed at him.

"I apologize, sir." Duckett bowed at the screen, although the apology didn't seem to improve Lord Fira's attitude any. "If I may ask, how _did_ you escape? Surely you couldn't have survived the blast, so you must have left beforehand."

"You are not in a position to question your superiors, but take heart in that I am in a fairly good mood at the moment. Yes, I did escape before the blast. I had received warning of the impeding meltdown, and managed to escape in this hellishly small aircraft. I do believe I was the only survivor."

"Thank the gods for your safety; I was fearing for the future of CORE during our loss of communication."

"Yet I can see you are still continuing with the tests as planed instead of worrying with undue grief. You are to be commended for your dedication to work, even when faced with possible disaster."

"It is my job, sir. I would have it no other way."

"Well then, carry on with your tests. I believe I will observe this once to measure his performance increase since the essence transfer was completed."

"I am confident you will be pleased with the results. If I am not mistaken..."

"Duckett, sir! The test subjects are ready, and Iruel says he is beginning to get impatient. It is recommended we begin the test now," an aide announced as he rushed into the small control room, which doubled as an observation room for the test chamber below, and hastily saluted as he noticed who was watching him through the camera positioned above the window.

"Very well. Release the test subjects, then wait until I give the command to release Iruel," Duckett said, Lord Fira's image sliding off to the corner of the window as a red border around the image indicated that Lord Fira couldn't see the control room anymore and was viewing a different camera—one in the test chamber—instead.

Around the test chamber, small panels around the base of the walls slid downwards into the floor, a mechanical arm with a flat metal plate on their ends pushing the contents of the little rooms around the base of the test chamber out. Their contents turned out to be Pokémon, live ones that whined and moaned as they crept around the empty chamber, wondering when the misery of their lives dedicated solely to being tested on would end. Among these Pokémon there was a blue and cream-colored hedgehog, a young black and white Pokémon that had features of both a canine and a feline but resembled neither, and a black dog with bone-like strips running along its back and around its ankles.

"An interesting selection, those three." Lord Fira noted, his voice still being projected into the control room.

Duckett hadn't been responsible for choosing the test subjects, and was himself surprised at that specific trio being in by happenstance. Pleased and amused nonetheless by this occurrence, he cheerfully called out to his aides, "Release Iruel and activate all recording devices!"

At the far end of the room from where the Pokémon had gathered, a final door, larger than the rest, slid open. Wearing various bioelectrical monitoring equipment all over his body—including around his arms, legs, and head—a human figure walked out of the open door, looking almost like a robot with all the metal he was wearing. Slowly he opened his arms wide and held them straight out to either side of him, his hands held flat with his index and middle fingers extended straight, while the rest of his fingers were held to his palm.

On the wall on each side of him a small panel opened, revealing a shallow storage space behind them containing only one item each, a simplistic round ring made of a white metal with a wide inner edge that tapered down to a razor thin edge on the outside and were about a foot in diameter. Those rings, chakrams as they were properly called, flew out of the storage spaces and over to the human's hands, floating in place in the air around his extended fingers. Showing no sign of pain, the man suddenly grabbed the rings, the sharp outer edge seemingly pressing into his palms but causing no damage.

"Begin test trial B42. Iruel, you may begin," Duckett called out.

The trial didn't last fifteen seconds. Propelling himself forward by some unseen force, Iruel was suddenly in the midst of the group of Pokémon, their eyes snapping up and looking at the human covered in electrical components in awe. The awe didn't last for long, for before the Pokémon had much more than a split second to notice the man, he suddenly spun around with his arms outstretched, the chakrams he held slicing through the Pokémon like their bodies were made of butter. Blood splattered over the floor and walls as the Pokémon were sliced in half, their bodies falling off the chakrams in two pieces, dropping limply to the ground and spilling their guts over the progressively slicker floor.

A few of the Pokémon, oddly enough the Cyndaquil, Absol, and Houndour managed to escape the devastation and run to the other end of the room while Iruel busied himself with destroying all the other Pokémon who were too stunned to react to the slaughter. The three hadn't escaped Iruel's notice, however, and as soon as the space around him was devoid of life he turned to face them, smirking as he watched them paw futilely at one of the panels they had emerged from, trying to get it to open again. Holding his arms out to his side again, taking up the shape of the cross as before, he let go of the chakrams, them continuing to float in the air around his fingers. Suddenly they began to rapidly spin, speeding up until they resembled circular saws without their middles more than chakrams, which were usually never spun at such high speeds.

In one quick motion Iruel suddenly crossed his arms across his upper chest, the chakrams moving with his fingers, before flicking his hands forward and sending the spinning chakrams flying. Curving in their flight paths, the chakrams bore down on the escaping Pokémon who could barely glance up before the two chakrams had flew through them, slicing each of their bodies in half, blood flying as the detached halves of the innocent Pokémon collapsed in a pile of blood and gore.

The chakrams returned to Iruel like a pair of boomerangs. He caught them again, halting their spin abruptly as he grabbed them, once again inflicting no harm on himself. Tossing his head back he laughed as he stood amid the circle of death he had caused, the mutilated carcasses of dead Pokémon scattered about amid the bright red blood. "Master!" Iruel called out, knowing that his voice would not go unheard. "Let me do it again! And again! Let me do it until the end of time!"

Duckett had seen it before, so the massacre didn't affect him. The young technician who had received his wish of hearing Duckett's and Lord Fira's talk, however, was sickened at the event, and struggled not to embarrass himself by throwing up. It wasn't so much the deaths of the innocent Pokémon that bothered him, but the gruesome end they had all met and the carefree and almost playful manner Iruel handled it with.

A clap began to fill the room as Lord Fira switched back to the control room camera feed again, a pleased smile on his face as he clapped. "You are to be commended yet again, commander Duckett. To artificially achieve this level of skill in such a short time is no easy matter."

"You must not forget that it's _not_ all artificial. We may have strengthened his latent abilities somewhat, and taught him how to control natural aura energy, but the base for all he knows is just a part of him, a part of the angel Iruel."

"A valid point, yet without your research those latent abilities would be nothing. Upon my return you can look forward to an award and a salary increase."

"Thank you, my lord." Duckett gave a small bow, a look on his face as if he had expected more, and Lord Fira nodded back before the video feed suddenly disappeared as the connection was terminated from Lord Fira's end.

Turning away from the window and walking towards the door, Duckett glanced at the young technician at the communications terminal as well as the other two stationed around the room. "Activate memory wipe procedures. We cannot have what has transpired here public knowledge."

The young technician started as a force field was activated and constrained him in his chair as a metal band emerged from the headrest and wrapped around his head. A burst of electricity, and all his memories of the past ten minutes vanished.

"Return to your quarters," Duckett ordered him.

The young technician nodded and eagerly obliged, not sure what he had been doing down in that part of the lab anyways.

Duckett scratched his chin as he looked down at the test chamber where cleaning robots were busy sweeping Pokémon carcasses into a portable incinerator and mopping the floor clean. "Lord Fira... What exactly is the purpose of this little pet of yours...?"

**End of Chapter 17  
**

* * *

**End of Part 3, Crimson Light  
To Be Continued in Part 4, Distant Memories**


	18. Chapter 18

_Author's Note: So sorry about that long break. School and family trouble and overall lack of inspiration to write has been common in me as of late. Well, I finally managed to pull together chapter 18, and have a gut feeling that chapter 19 won't take as long. My gut feelings tend to be accurate, so who knows. :) _

* * *

**Part 4: Distant Memories  
**

* * *

**Chapter 18**

**Rayne**

Black... A void of never-ending black, without boundaries, without a center, without substance... There was no being in this space, only existing. How I had gotten to this space I did not know; I couldn't even be sure I was actually me.

"Is this a dream?" I asked. The sounds didn't—couldn't—exist in this space, however in my mind I sensed them resonating away from me like ripples over a pond's surface.

_"In some ways, yes. In some ways, no. To understand the answer you must first understand the question and realize what dream is,"_ The response resonated back towards my mind.

"If this isn't a dream, then...where am I?" I asked of the void. "There is nothing here... Not even me, or you..."

_"One's perception of this space depends on their perception of life and the world around them. You see nothing for you feel nothing."_

"Why should I feel for a world that has seen fit to lock away my past...? The same world in which people exist that view Pokémon as naught but tools, or even pests... Am I the only one that sees them as equals?! They're all I have left!"

_"No. And you already know that; the answer lies right in front of you. You are blinded by ignorance and arrogance."_

My thoughts hit a snag as I realized what the void meant. _Shrike... He is different... He is like me..._ I thought to myself.

_"You both share equal yet opposing powers with the common bond of compassion,"_ the void responded to my thoughts, intruding upon my mind.

"Even so, what could he possibly do for me? What good does caring for other people bring?"

Instead of the void responding to me in my mind, a small flash of light somewhere in the distance got my attention. Curiously I began moving towards it, feeling as if I wasn't moving, but that the small light was coming to me, growing brighter as it neared. Coming upon it I picked it up, realizing that it was a small ring with a silver chain looped through it, a nearly opaque yet dazzling blue stone set into it.

"This is..." I murmured, but before I could finish I gasped as the void around me disappeared, being replaced by the clear image of a forest, with a woman and small girl standing among the endless trees.

"Mama, what is happening?" the black-haired child asked, looking up at the woman with wide eyes.

The woman looked similar to the child, with the same black hair, sad eyes, and sad smile. "The elders...they say that we can't remain here anymore. We have to move elsewhere."

"But, why can't I go? Why can't I go with you, Mama?" the child cried, burying her face in the woman's dress. Meanwhile I stood off to the side, mouth agape as I watched the scene play out before me.

Glancing around at the trees, as if expecting something to jump out at her, she whispered to the child, "Because they fear this beast. They fear it will bring destruction to us. Since _it_ will not leave you, _we_ must leave both of you for the protection of the people of the village. It is the elders' decision."

"But...but... She's harmless!" the child screamed, tears streaming from her eyes. "Don't believe the legends! They lie!"

The woman turned her eyes away from the child and stared at the ground. "It was found with you alongside the corpse of Corrine. Who else but the beast could have killed him? The bringer of destruction... Who knows when it will strike next...?" The last two sentences were a barely audible murmur.

The child began to cry even more as the woman spoke the name Corrine, sinking to her knees as her tears stained the woman's dress. "He was... He was... It wasn't her..."

"Hush, my child." The woman unclasped the child's arms from her legs, kneeling down and placing a hand on her head. "I do not like this either, but there is no other way."

Pausing thoughtfully for a moment, the woman gently grabbed a ring—set with a blue stone—around her left index finger and twisted it off, clasping it to her breast in her closed fist for a second. "Take this. This ring is special, and now I pass it onto you. Remember me whenever you behold it, and I will forever be by your side. Keep it next to your breast, and my soul will be one with yours..." Opening up the child's right hand, she placed the ring into it and closed the fingers around it again, pressing the child's hand first against her breast, and then the child's own.

The woman stood up and took a step back, as the child looked up at her with frightened eyes. "Mama! Don't leave me!" She screamed as the woman walked backwards a few steps.

"Farewell, my beloved Rayne..." the woman said, tears glinting in her eyes before she turned around and ran off into the trees. The trembling child was left alone, her attempts to chase after her mother resulting only in her tripping and falling. She tried to get back up but continually fell down, abandoned in the middle of the endless forest.

"Mama, don't leave me! Mama! Come back! MAMA!"

_"The seal is breaking... Do not forget, only remember..."_

"**MAMA!**"

* * *

**Shrike**

Startled by Rayne's sudden outburst, I almost let go of the boat's steering wheel as I turned around in my seat to see what was going on. Rayne had shot up in her seat and was holding her head, panting. "Nightmare?" I asked, glancing at Aira's sleeping form in the seat next to me to see if Rayne's scream had woken her up, which it hadn't.

"In a way." Rayne shook her head and looked over the side of the boat, dipping her hand into the water and rubbing the cold ocean water over her face.

It had been a few hours since our escape from the Crimson Dawn base, and night had fallen. Finally. It was hard to believe that we had only spent less than a single day stranded on that island, although I had since realized that we must have been lying on the beach unconscious for an entire night.

Not wanting, or having the nerve, to travel under water the whole way to Dewford Island, I had surfaced and opened up the top of the boat after we had cleared the area of fast surface currents around the Crimson Dawn's island that prevented normal boats from leaving on the surface of the water. I had been thinking of closing the boat's top again, though, and pressing random buttons in the hopes that I would activate a heater, as it was starting to get cold.

"Was it something about your family? You were screaming 'Mama.'"

Rayne sighed and spread her arms across the back of her wide seat, which she had all to herself in the back of the boat. "It was...a memory. About my mom."

"A memory? So, are you starting to remember your past?" I was surprised, and couldn't hide a curious tone from my voice.

"In fragments. Random pieces that have come back to me at random times..." Rayne made a motion as if it was no big deal.

"But, that's still good! So now that you have a memory of your mom, do you know where she is now? I'm sure she'd love to see you again, and you her."

Rayne grimaced and looked down at her feet, hiding her eyes from my view. "That is not possible. I do not know where she is now, even if I now know _who_ she is..."

"Oh? Well, that's unfortunate. I suppose you're just like me. We both know who our moms are, to varying degrees, but they are as good as lost to us. I don't think I'd care to see mine again, though. She may have seemed kind, but now that I look back I can see that she was just a coward. Running away from us and leaving me with a man who she knew hated me and my hobbies... I don't ever want to see her again for what she did to me."

Rayne silently grabbed the ring that she wore on a chain around her neck and held it to her breast. "I cannot say that my mom seems any better now..."

"Hmm? Did something happen between you two? You can't judge a person's entire character from just one memory of them, though."

"...It is nothing."

"If you say so." I shrugged and turned back around, staring off into the horizon. We were in open sea right now, with no landmarks in sight. The only guide I had to go by was a digital compass on the dashboard of the boat and the GPS based mapping software on my Pokédex. Any experienced sailor probably would have laughed at us right now, however I personally believed we weren't doing that bad navigation-wise. The Pokédex told me everything I needed to know, including that we were within just a few nautical miles of Dewford.

"Hey, we should be within site of Dewford soon, so if you can't get back to sleep how about you tell me when you can see the island?" I grabbed a pair of portable, electronic binoculars that I had stuffed in the bottom of my backpack before I left home—and had almost forgotten about—and handed them over the back of my seat to Rayne, who grunted before sitting up in her seat, scanning the horizon through the binoculars. "Be sure to turn the night vision enhancements on, otherwise you won't be able to see anything..."

"I know how to work binoculars, thank you very much." I could hear Rayne fumbling with the device, and glancing back I saw her frowning at them as she randomly pressed the small buttons on the binocular's side.

"Let me see them..." I took the binoculars back and quickly activated the night vision mode, handing them back to Rayne who took them from me without a word and proceeded to keep watch.

For about fifteen more minutes we glided along the surface of the water in near silence, the only sound we heard being the breaking of small waves against the side of our boat and the gentle hum of the boat's quiet motor. Basking in the serene nightscape, lit by only the glow of the moon, I was taken by surprise when Rayne suddenly said, "There's an island in the distance, a ways to the left of our current course."

I glanced down at my Pokédex, lying open and activated on the seat next to me, and zoomed in on the map some, realizing that we were indeed off course. I had been distracted by watching the night and hadn't checked the map in some time. Using the map as a reference, I adjusted our course until we appeared to be heading straight for Dewford again. "How about now?" I asked

"The island looks to be straight ahead."

"Good, we should reach it in about twenty minutes at our current speed. Let's hope we can find someplace to dock without raising too much attention, this boat isn't exactly normal..." _And I sure don't want it to be stolen... It's too nice._ I thought to myself, grinning and completely ignoring the fact that we had stolen it in the first place.

A few minutes later I could see the island with my own unaided eyes, and Rayne handed the binoculars back to me. I stuffed them in my backpack on the floor at my feet, focusing on steering the boat. When we were about five minutes away from the island, I shook Aira gently to wake her up. "We're here," I whispered as she rubbed her eyes and sat up.

"This is Dewford?" she asked, looking at the dark coastline of the island. Tall towers with windows lit up here and there rose up out of the landmass, apparently hotels and resorts.

"Yep, and as soon as I find someplace to dock we can make a run for the island's Pokémon Center. It should be open twenty-four seven, all the ones I know of are..." I scanned the coastline, making out a few lights on piers which jutted out into the ocean for boats to dock at. Obviously, of course, I didn't want to dock out in the open. I didn't even know which piers were privately owned and which were public. Fishing out my binoculars again, I looked through them and used their night vision mode to better make out the rock formations along the coast. "There!" I suddenly exclaimed. "It's perfect!"

"What is?" Aira asked.

"There's a small, shallow-looking cave in the rocks that make up part of the island's coastline. As the water doesn't look that deep, we could leave the boat there and just wade through the water to a beach." I carefully navigated the boat around a few outlying rocks and into the cave, the rock face that made up this part of the island's coastline looming above us as the boat slowly glided into the cave. I had been worried that perhaps the cave would be too shallow for the boat, but the boat seemed to float on the water higher than most boats. Hitting a button marked with an anchor symbol on the boat's dashboard caused the boat to shake slightly as the boat's spear-like anchor shot out of the bottom of the boat and buried itself securely into the seabed. "Well, that's it; we've finally made it. Time to find the Pokémon Center now..."

I fumbled with the boat's controls until it turned off, gathering up my backpack and making sure that all my stuff was in it. I glanced over the side of the boat, estimating that the water was only about a foot deep. Tentatively I lifted a leg over the side and stepped into the water with my bare foot, having removed my shoes so they wouldn't get wet. "Gah! It's really cold, but shallow enough to walk through..." I lifted my other leg over the side of the boat, using the cave wall as a support, and found myself standing almost knee deep in the water. Rayne and Aira followed suit, each of them gasping in turn at the coldness of the water, and slowly we began to trudge out of the cave and along the coastline, towards a beach about twenty feet away. Fortunately, the water remained shallow the entire way there.

"I feel like an escaping prisoner or something..." I muttered as I shook my legs out on the beach.

"Rayne and I are..." Aira said. I noticed that she was holding Fury's Pokéball tightly.

"I guess so... Let's just find the Pokémon Center now and hope nothing bad like this whole Crimson Dawn incident ever happens again..." I pulled out my Pokédex and checked the map, switching it to city view mode and marking the island's Pokémon Center. "Once we get off this beach it's not far. It's close to the ferry terminal, among the middle and low class resorts. High class resorts are near the back of the island, away from the public areas and tourist attractions."

"We're almost there..." Aira murmured as she stared at Fury's Pokéball. While Rayne showed no outward emotions, I noticed her right hand was stuck in the pocket where she kept Matariel's and Oriel's Pokéballs.

"Well... Let's get going." Pulling my shoes onto my now dry feet I set off across the beach, following the red arrow on my Pokédex that pointed towards the Pokémon Center.

* * *

"Please! You've got to take care of my Houndour right away!" Aira burst through the doors of the Pokémon Center and ran up to the reception desk on the opposite side of the foyer from the doors, placing Fury's Pokéball down on the desk. The nurse on duty looked up from a book she was reading, surprised that someone had actually come in at one in the morning. Other than our group of three and the nurse, we were all alone in the Pokémon Center's foyer. 

"My Absol and Espeon require care immediately as well." Rayne drew the two Pokéballs out of her pocket and placed them on the desk. The nurse looked at me as if she expected me to need help as well, but I just shrugged.

"I'm good. All I want is a bed, although I suppose it would be best to get three beds."

"So late at night... What happened? Gangsters? We've been having trouble with them lately. But there are curfew laws, you know..."

"Actually, we wouldn't know. We just arrived in town," I said, weary about giving away too much information. I slipped my trainer card out of my pocket and handed it the receptionist, Rayne and Aira following suit.

"Well, we're not that full right now, so you three can have one of our eight person sleeping rooms all to yourselves, that should be plenty of space. You'll need these keys to get into the room, which is just down that hall there and to the right." The nurse handed each of us a normal, silver key, each of which had the same room number engraved on it.

I frowned as we pocketed the keys and trainer cards the nurse returned to us. _Keys? You think they would have at least upgraded to cardkeys sometime in the last twenty years, if not even getting rid of separate keys altogether and tying the lock to our trainer cards like in Petalburg..._ Aira tapped her feet impatiently and Rayne folded her arms across her chest, tapping the fingers of her left hand against her right arm, evidently anxious as well.

"Now, if you want to come back while I examine your Pokémon, you may." The nurse pressed and held a button on her desk which seemed to activate an intercom, and through it she called for another nurse to come out and fill her position at the reception desk. Standing up, she nodded at us and motioned towards a door set behind the desk. "Right this way."

Despite not having any Pokémon that needed care I followed the nurse, Rayne, and Aira—who had picked their Pokéballs back up—into the back of the Pokémon Center anyways. We only walked a short ways down the hall before the nurse stopped at a door and fumbled with the lock on it, another woman in a nurse outfit passing us by and heading up to the front of the Pokémon Center at the same time, smiling at the nurse who was taking care of us as she passed. The door finally opened and we filed into the examination room, wherein four large, stainless steel tables sat.

"If you'll release your Pokémon onto the tables we can get started." The nurse motioned at the tables, and I stepped back and stood against the wall so that I wouldn't get in the way.

All three Pokémon were released onto the tables near simultaneously, the nurse's eyes widening as the three nearly dead Pokémon appeared. She obviously hadn't been expecting this. "Oh my... Oh my God! What the... What happened?!" Frantically she held down a button on the wall next to the door to activate an intercom. "Terry, we have an emergency here! You won't be enough to handle this yourself, we'll need at least two more of the day doctors here as well. _At least._ I have three Pokémon here," She glanced back at the tables to look at them again, "a Houndour, Absol, and Espeon, and they're all in critical condition. It seems the only thing that has been keeping them alive is Pokéball stasis."

"But all the other doctors are asleep..." The doctor, Terry, said through the intercom.

"No, I never would have guessed! Wake them up! I have three dying Pokémon here, and their job is to care for them, not sleep! Just get them here and ready to operate!" She released the intercom button and hurriedly ran over to each table, scanning over each of the three Pokémon, making notes in a voice recorder she had produced from somewhere.

"Subject, Houndour. Trainer, Aira Kaza. Multiple lacerations and what appear to be deep rope burns cover entire body and are centered on abdominal area. Compound fractures in both rear lower legs with tibia protruding from skin about a half an inch. Front upper legs seem twisted and spiral fractures are to be expected. Severe blood loss theorized due to loss of color in subject's fur. Eyes have dilated and glazed, breathing shallow and with sharp noises that indicate damage along trachea. Further analysis will be conducted once subject has been transferred to life support."

The nurse went on to check Matariel and Oriel, with pretty much the same symptoms as she had indicated for Fury. Aira, meanwhile, knelt by Fury, her head bowed and her hands clasped together in her lap. "Oh mother goddess Armisael, I beg of you, protect your son who rests before me, support him in his time of need. Tend to his wounds and speed his recovery. I pray to you, my celestial mother who resides among the heavens, and hope that you will heed my words..."

_A prayer? Since when has she been religious? Well, I suppose I have only known her in real life like this for a couple of weeks now... Has it really only been that little?_

Rayne only stood and stared at the beaten, almost lifeless forms of Matariel and Oriel as the nurse quickly looked them over, another nurse rushing into the room ahead of a Chansey pushing a stretcher along. "We don't want to move them too much due to the extent of their leg injuries." The nurse examining the Pokémon said. The new nurse nodded in confirmation and released six latches around the tabletop that Fury lay on and, with the Chansey's help, lifted the entire tabletop with Fury on it onto the stretcher. The Chansey then waddled around to the end of the stretcher opposite the door so that it could push it out of the room and down the hall, Aira staring mournfully at Fury as he was pushed away. One at a time two more Chanseys came into the room with stretchers, Matariel then Oriel being carried away on them.

"It's not often we see Pokémon in such serious conditions as this, and three at one time... Just what happened to them?" The original nurse who had been at the reception desk when we came in to the Pokémon Center sighed and put away her voice recorder as the last stretcher left the room. She was looking oddly at Rayne and Aira, and I wondered if she might have thought that they had actually caused the injuries.

Before any of us could respond, the intercom on the wall beeped and the nurse walked over to it and held down the button. "Hey, do you know who those three kids are?!" a woman's voice exclaimed through the intercom.

"No, why would I?"

_Oh, shit... What could this be about?_ My heart was racing, sweat beginning to drop down from my forehead.

"They were three of the passengers who were on that ferry that was lost at sea the other day! I don't know how they survived, but only a few others have been found alive!"

"What?! Oh, damn, does this mean we're going to have the press crowding at the door tomorrow for interviews...?" The nurse glanced at us and sighed. "Well, what happens, happens. For now, we just need to worry about their Pokémon."

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Hey, you know that I have a part time job as a writer for the Dewford Times, right? This could be my bi—" The nurse took her finger off the intercom button and sighed again.

"I don't know what she's still doing here..." Looking up at us, she shook her head. "Sorry about that. You'll probably have journalists swarming around you like flies once this news gets out. That explosion and the loss of the ferry you were on has been huge news." Muttering to herself, she added, "She must have gotten a copy of the passenger manifest so she could compare them to anyone who checks in here... This time she got lucky..." Composing herself, the nurse asked, "So, is that why your Pokémon are in such bad shape? The accident? Why weren't any of yours hurt? Shrike, is it?"

"Yeah, Shrike. And, well, yeah, I guess it was the accident which caused them to get hurt. Mine weren't as I had them in their Pokéballs at the time, while Rayne's and Aira's were out." I glanced at the girls, seeing that Aira was biting her fingernails worriedly and Rayne was taping her feet with impatience. "Excuse me, but we're not really in the mood to talk about this right now. We'd like to just go get some sleep."

"Oh, of course, of course. Just to let you know, there's a Pokémon Trainer's Café just down the street outside this building where you can eat for free by showing them your trainer card. If any news about your Pokémon comes up, we'll be sure to notify you immediately."

I nodded and reached into my backpack, pulling out a small pad of paper and a pen. I scribbled my cell phone number down on the paper and handed it to the nurse. "We should be together most of the time, so just call me if something comes up. You can also message mine or Aira's Pokédex—they should be tied to our trainer cards—but calling is just more convenient."

The nurse smiled as she took the piece of paper and slipped it into a pocket. "Of course, I'll be sure to notify the other nurses and doctors about the number as well. I promise you, we'll do our absolute best to care for your Pokémon. We may not be the most advanced Pokémon Center in Hoenn, but as long as they're under my care, they will get better, and I'll make sure of it. As soon as their condition has been stabilized we'll allow you to visit them, so don't worry about them and just go get some sleep. You all look like you badly need it."

"Thank you," Aira said quietly. "I just...don't like thinking of Fury suffering under so much pain... His pain hurts me..."

"I understand how you feel, I used to be a trainer myself before I decided that I liked helping Pokémon more than battling them. My name's Bridget, just ask for me if you have any questions about your Pokémon, okay?" the nurse, Bridget, said.

Rayne and Aira nodded, and we all filed out of the examination room. As we walked down the hall towards the entrance foyer, three men wearing white lab coats rushed out of the foyer and up the hallway towards us. "They're this way; I think Tiffany's taking care of them right now." Bridget broke off from us and jogged with the doctors back into the heart of the Pokémon Center, glancing back at us as she went.

Once again we were on our own, and in a solemn silence walked back out into the foyer and down the hall where the sleeping rooms were. Finding the room whose number matched that on our keys, I unlocked the door and threw it open, stepping into what would be our home for the next few weeks.

Two bunk beds rested against the walls on the left and right sides of the room, a dresser between each of the beds. On the opposite wall from the door a large window took up most of the wall, overlooking a stunning view of the beach and ocean below (the Pokémon Center rested on a small cliff over the beach), and on either side of the window a door led out to a balcony. I was quite surprised by the room. Despite the overall less advanced nature of Dewford's Pokémon Center compared to Petalburg's, the sleeping rooms were better, although perhaps capable of housing too many people; I hoped that we didn't have to bother with anyone else being put into the same room as us while we stayed on the island.

Aira and Rayne each took the lower bed of the two bunk beds on the left side of the room, with Rayne closer to the room's entrance and Aira closer to the window. I took the lower bed on the right side of the room closer to the window, across from Aira. Tiredly I dropped my backpack at the foot of the bed and removed my Pokédex, cell phone, and the three Pokéballs from my belt before unfastening the belt itself and pulling it off. I set all that stuff along with my watch and glasses on the dresser, pausing for a moment before I picked up the leftmost Pokéball, opening it up and releasing Zethro into the room. He was already sleeping, and so I gently picked the Cyndaquil up after setting his Pokéball back on the dresser. Finally I allowed myself to plop down on my bed, setting Zethro on it next to me, stroking his back.

I glanced over and saw that Rayne and Aira had both gotten into bed already, and that while Rayne seemed to be sleeping, Aira was sitting up and staring out the window. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"I...want to talk to you more. Later. About my past," she simply said, before lying down and instantly falling asleep.

"Maybe I should as well..." I said quietly to myself before closing my eyes and slipping into dreams.

**End of Chapter 18**


	19. Chapter 19

_Author's Note: WHOA! Gah, I completely forgot about this place for a little, and completely forgot to post chapter 19 here! Well, here I am now, with both 19 _and _20 in tow. Sorry for the long absence; it seems to happen to me a lot. _

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**Shrike**

"Shrike?"

Something furry pushed up against my nose, breaking the dreamless sleep I had been in. Still, I kept my eyes closed and moaned slightly, trying to tell whatever was prodding me that I wished to remain sleeping.

"Shrike?"

Again, the thing continued poking me gently, and with a mumble of dissatisfaction I opened my eyes, staring right into the eyes of a Cyndaquil who was lying next to me, nudging my face with his long snout.

"What is it, Zethro...?" I mumbled tiredly.

"Where are we?" He cocked his head curiously.

I slowly sat up, rubbed my eyes, and looked around the Pokémon Center sleeping room I was in. Light shined brightly through the room's large window, and I guessed that it was probably almost noon. "The Dewford Island Pokémon Center... I guess maybe I should have told you last night..."

"So we made it off that island place? What all happened there anyways? I still don't know what all that was about in that cave place..."

"I don't think any of us know that ourselves... It was certainly strange with...whatever happened to you."

"Huh? What happened to me?" Zethro cocked his head, and I then remembered that he had no memory of the whole spirit Zethro possession.

"This spirit or whatever who also calls himself Zethro possessed you or something, claiming that he's been 'bonded' to you. If it wasn't for him we never would have escaped, as he stopped the Crimson Dawn's High Chancellor from killing Rayne and Aira and then led us to a boat dock. Oddly, when he first appeared, he was talking in some language that I couldn't understand, but it seemed like he and the High Chancellor knew each other..."

"Possessed? What's that mean?" Zethro asked about the unfamiliar word.

"It means he took over control of your body and somehow locked your mind out, hence why you can't remember what happened."

"Is it a bad thing for that to happen?"

"Well, I guess it depends on whether this other Zethro is good or evil... While that was certainly an interesting occurrence, though, I think we now have more important things to worry about, such as the near-death experiences of Rayne's and Aira's Pokemon. I actually have a friend I want to talk to sometime about what's been going on with us, but first I need to hear the other side of the story..."

I got out of my bed and stood on the floor next to it, stretching my arms out and looking at the other side of the room. Rayne sat awake on her bed with a book in one hand, staring intently at the pages, yet Aira's bed was empty. "Hey, where's Aira?" I asked as I stretched out a curtain that hung on the end of my bed. It stretched across to the end of the vacant bed next to it, forming a sort of wall that boxed me in between the two bunk beds and the dresser on my side of the room. Hidden behind the curtain, I quickly changed out of the clothes which I had been wearing for the past few days. I wanted to take a bath sometime, but I would have to find it first...

Rayne looked up at me agitatedly for disturbing her reading. "Gone. She woke up a few hours ago and shot out of the room. Don't bother asking me where she went." She was then silent once more and went back to reading her book.

"Come on, Zethro. Let's go find Aira." A loud rumble from my stomach made me sigh. "And this trainer café that nurse Bridget told us about last night..." I had finished changing out of my clothes and into another pair that were pretty much identical to the ones I had worn before. I didn't have much variance when it came to what I wore... I pulled my belt on and reattached everything to it and slid my glasses and watch on. Leaving my jacket and backpack behind in the room, I pulled on my shoes and picked Zethro up, opening up the door and walking out into the hall.

Immediately I ran into a maid who was coming out of the room across from ours. "Excuse me, but where are the bathrooms here?" I asked her.

"Right down at the end of this hall there are two doors, the left is for girls and the right is for boys. You can't bring Pokémon in them, though." She smiled at Zethro who had assumed his position on my shoulder. "There's a special outdoor area where your Pokémon can bathe and such, also at the end of this hall and with a Pokéball symbol on it."

"Thank you," I said, nodding slightly before turning down the hall in the direction of the bathrooms.

"I thought you said we were looking for Aira and this café place?" Zethro asked.

"Some things are more important, at times... How are you feeling? Do you need a bath too?"

"I'm hungry... That's really it..."

"When are you not...?" I mumbled as I recalled Zethro into his Pokéball and walked into the bathroom door with a symbol of a boy on it.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later I reemerged from the bathroom, my hair slightly damp. The amount of dirt that had washed off my body had been staggering, and I was glad I had decided to take a shower before looking for Aira. I released Zethro again and lifted him back onto my shoulder, walking down the hall towards the Pokémon Center's foyer, where I had a feeling Aira would be. Sure enough, I found her sitting in one of the chairs around the edges of the room, staring blankly at the door that led to the back of the Pokémon Center. I silently walked over next to her and sat down. 

"They won't let me see him yet. I asked Bridget, and even she said that I have to wait a little longer," she murmured.

"Then maybe we should go get something to eat. Have you eaten at all since we were last on the ferry?"

"A little. We had a few snacks before the Crimson Dawn caught us. That was it. But I can't leave now. What if something happens to Fury? I have to be here..."

"They'll call me if something happens." I set my hand on Aira's shoulder, she lowering her head. "Look, I know how you feel; to an extent at least. Zethro was once hurt a lot as well, and I too was worried about him."

"Shrike saved me..." Zethro muttered, nudging fondly against my cheek.

"You can't let worry overcome your life. You must continue on, and trust that all will be all right," I continued.

"But all is not right! How can I trust that things will be fine when my parents were murdered right in front of me?!" Aira suddenly spun around in her chair and grabbed my arms, looking up at me with tear-stained eyes. "How can I trust that things will be fine if this happened in the first place?!" She began sobbing and moved a little closer to me.

"There are some bad people in this world... Some very bad people..." Memories of Zelos and Ramirez ran through my mind. "Yet, there are also good people, like Bridget. The Crimson Dawn may have wanted to hurt you and Fury, but you can trust that Bridget and the other nurses and doctors here will do all they can to care for Fury."

"I hate bad people... Why do they deliberately cause so much grief? There's got to be something that can be done..." Aira sank down a little, before her head snapped up. "The police! Surely they can do something! That's their job after all, isn't it? To stop bad people!"

"Right, so we'll go tell the police about the Crimson Dawn. They've been working in secrecy as they know they'll be completely overwhelmed if they're known to the world, so let's go expose them!" I smiled as Aira smiled back at me, wiping tears away from her eyes.

"Right after we go eat!" Zethro suddenly chimed in.

"Right! After we go eat!" I declared, Aira chuckling lightly.

"I suppose... I suppose that no more harm will happen if I'm not here all the time..." Aira said, weakly standing up out of her chair.

I took her hand and guided her out of the Pokémon Center, using my Pokédex in my other hand to find where the Pokémon Trainer's Café Bridget had told us about was.

Behind the doors that led to the back of the Pokémon Center, that same Bridget leaned against a wall, looking out through one of the windows in the doors at us and shaking her head, smiling to herself. "That Shrike... Great things are bound to stem from him."

* * *

"Wow! This place is great! Just look at it all!" I stood at the entrance to the large room that constituted the majority of the Pokémon Trainer's Café, having just walked through the doors to it behind me. I clasped my hands together and stared around me as my mouth fell open in amazement. 

The entrance to the café we had walked through was positioned on one wall of a hexagonal-shaped room, with more doors leading off each of the remaining walls. The doors on the walls positioned to either side of the entry door led out to covered patios with tables and chairs on them to eat at, while the remaining three walls across from the entry door were made of giant panes of transparent glass that allowed one to see through them into three separate rooms which housed arenas for Pokémon battles. At the very center of the central hexagonal room an array of six TVs was situated with couches facing each TV set. Buffet tables loaded with all sorts of food, including both standard fare like cheeseburgers as well as lots of seafood and other tropical food like Krabby cakes, were then arranged in yet another hexagonal-shape around the perimeter of the room, with breaks in the array of tables where the doors on the walls were. The entire central room was bathed in a blue light while techno music played through speakers overhead, barely audible over the loud clamor of voices.

I watched as people filled up plates of food and carried them out to the patios or over to around the TVs, either standing while eating and talking to other people or taking a seat on one of the couches. More people hurried through the door into one of the Pokémon battle arenas with their food, sitting down on the bleachers around the battlefield while a battle between a Dewgong and Pelipper started.

"Food _and_ battles... This place is just like heaven!" I exclaimed

Aira smiled as she looked around the room filled with other trainers and all sorts of mouth-watering smells. "Yes, it is nice, and to think it's free... How can they do it with no profit?"

"We operate mainly through grants from the government and donations from a variety of sponsors," a friendly voice behind me said.

I turned around and found myself facing a young man who wore knee-long blue denim shorts and an orange tee-shirt, both of which left his fairly muscular arms and legs exposed. A belt around his waist held a full complement of six Pokéballs. "Name's Noah, and I run this joint. I'll need to see your trainer IDs lest you want to be forced to leave. We've had some trouble with the gangs lately, and I don't want to take any chances."

"I've heard about these gangs, what's up with them?" I asked as I fished my trainer ID out and handed it to Noah as Aira did the same, she keeping her head down as she did so, not letting Noah's eyes meet her face. He swiftly scanned them through a hand-held scanning device and nodded, giving them back to us.

"Oh, nothing that serious. Just a rise in their general activity and the crime level is all. Nothing that the police force and a few dedicated trainers such as myself can't handle."

"So you are a trainer? I saw your belt and suspected it." I nodded.

Aira fidgeted uncomfortably next to me and quietly whispered in my ear, "I'm going to go get some food. Meet me outside at the tables when you're done talking."

"Is something the matter?" I asked.

"No, nothing... I'm just hungry, is all." Aira quickly broke away from us and walked over to the buffet tables. I shrugged and turned back to Noah who had a slight smile on his face.

"Hmm... You're new in town, aren't you?" Noah asked.

"Yeah, just arrived last night. I've never been here before."

"Well, that explains it. As Gym Leader of Dewford Island Pokémon Gym, let me welcome you to our beautiful island." Noah grinned as he held out his muscular hand, and I blinked with my mouth gaping open.

"Gym Leader? So, that means you must be Brawly's son! I heard he passed on leadership to his son a few years ago, but had no idea you were him!" I grinned and gripped his hand, shaking it. "My name's Shrike Flamestar, a new Pokémon Trainer from Rustboro City. I have yet to earn any badges, though..."

"Well, maybe that could change, if you can beat me in a Pokémon battle. Of course, keep in mind that water triumphs over fire." Noah winked at me as he nodded at Zethro on my shoulder.

"Water isn't your gym's only specialty, though. In fact, it used to be entirely a fighting type gym, if I recall correctly, and you've only recently added a water subtype, correct? Regardless, Zethro here isn't my only Pokémon, _you_ should keep that in mind. Jehiel, Ramiel, let's all meet our future opponent!" I pulled the two Pokéballs off my belt and tossed them in the air, them falling open to either side of me.

"Master! What'd we retreat for back there? I could have handled that big guy without breaking a sweat! Before he knew it, I would have already torn open his chest and begun feasting upon his innards!" A Zigzagoon, Jehiel, shouted as he ran around in a circle on the floor to the right of me, taking in the entire room as he undoubtedly looked for potential enemies, a rumbling from his stomach audible. "Actually, I feel like feasting on anything right now, innards or not..."

_Feasting on innards? Well, that's a new one..._ My mind flashed back to when I had first met Jehiel, and he had almost killed Zethro. _I suppose he would have back then too..._ "You'll get something to eat... Just don't count on it being _alive_ or anything..."

"Papa!" The second Pokémon of mine that had appeared was an Electrike, who excitedly leapt at my leg and wagged his tail back and forth. I bent down and picked him up, rubbing his head as he nuzzled me.

"Yes, it's good to see you too, Ramiel," I said through laughs as Ramiel licked my face, tickling me.

"Well, they're certainly energetic!" Noah grinned as I pulled Ramiel away from my face, holding him underneath his forelegs and suspending him in midair as he panted and wagged his tail at a speed that made it just a blur. Jehiel continued to run around me, gazing suspiciously at every single person in the café, including Noah.

"To a fault perhaps..." I sighed and shook my head, unable to keep a smile off my face. _If only he was able to hear Jehiel talk... That would certainly cause an interesting reaction..._

"Master! There is food here! May I please devour it?" Jehiel finally noticed the tables of food, the rumbling of his stomach increasing in intensity.

"I'd love to stay and chat more, but I think my Pokémon—and myself—can't wait to eat any longer," I said to Noah, setting Ramiel down on the ground.

"It was a pleasure meeting you; I hope our future battle will be just as pleasurable." Noah nodded.

"Same here. Well, seeya later!" Waving, I turned around and hurried off to the tables of food as Jehiel and Ramiel followed on the ground, Zethro remaining on my shoulder. We ran between the tables like a storm as I saw stuff I wanted and my Pokemon pointed out things that smelled good to them (except for Zethro they weren't able to actually see any of the food as the tables were too high, and both my hands were holding plates and thus unable to carry them). By the time we were finished picking out food, both of the plates I held were piled high with almost every food that was sitting out. The eyes of several amazed trainers following us, we made our way over to the door to the patio that I had seen Aira leave through. It was easy to find her among the outside dining tables as there were only a handful of occupied tables. Making my way over to the table she sat at, she looked up from a pamphlet she had been reading while she ate as I approached.

"What's that?" I asked as I set the plates of food down on the table. She shrugged as she looked at the plates of food disapprovingly.

"Just something about the history of this place. Seems it started as a smaller café that only served food before being expanded into the hangout it is nowadays. While it's no longer just a café, the name stuck. Do you really need so much food?"

"Yes. It's not all for just me though; Jehiel, Ramiel, and Zethro are hungry too, of course."

"Ramiel... When did you catch him? He wasn't with you before the whole Crimson Dawn incident." Aira looked at the Electrike curiously, and for good reason. She had only seen him once before and during a time of crisis at that.

I set one of the plates—the one on which I had put the food Ramiel, Jehiel, and Zethro wanted—on the floor and watched for a second as they began to ravenously attack it. "I caught him during it. Actually, I don't think caught is really the right word. I saved him, and in a sense adopted him."

"Adopted?" Aira didn't seem to understand what I meant.

"Papa, what does it mean that you adopted me? That girl seems to not know either." Ramiel didn't either, apparently.

"I see... 'Papa,' all right." Aira smiled fondly at Ramiel

"It means I've taken you in as a son, of sorts, and you see me as a father," I explained to Ramiel between mouthfuls of food.

"Oh, I get it, Papa. Yeah, Papa's my new dad after what those people did to Mama and Papa... And my sisters and brothers..." Ramiel began to sniff some, but managed to hold back tears.

"The Crimson Dawn killed them all," I whispered to Aira, her eyes widening with shock. "They would have killed Ramiel too if I hadn't been there."

Aira got out of her chair and knelt down on the ground next to Ramiel, patting him. When he looked up at her, she gently picked him up and held him to her chest. "My name is Aira, one of Shrike's friends and traveling companions. I can relate to your situation. Something similar happened to me. Very similar."

I watched curiously as Ramiel sniffed Aira, before looking up at her face. "Mama. Shrike is my new Papa, and you're my new Mama." That was it, and before I could even sigh Ramiel was nuzzling against Aira fondly.

_But _I'm_ his trainer and savior... Can he really call someone who's not one of his parents?_

"Go back to eating now, you need it." Aira sat Ramiel on the ground, letting him return to eating. The plate of food was already half gone, no thanks to Jehiel's and Zethro's monstrous appetites. Aira returned to her seat, looking decidedly pleased with herself.

"Do you realize how much you've upset the delicate balance and relationship between trainer and Pokémon?" I asked her.

"Oh, don't be mean. He's a young pup without any semblance of a true family. He needs support."

"You better hope he grows to understand you can't be with me forever..."

"Who said I can't?" Aira grinned at me in a way that greatly disturbed me and sent shivers through my spine.

I knew I had to change the subject, and fast, so I did just that. "Anyways... Why'd you run away from Noah in there like that?"

"It's...nothing that concerns you. Maybe I can tell you later."

"Later, huh? Everything seems to be later when it comes to you..."

Aira frowned and picked at some food on her plate. "Tonight. You already know the big turning point in my life, but tonight I'll tell you in more depth. Perhaps things will become clearer then..."

"And Noah? Will you say what's up with him?"

"...Let me think some more on that."

"If you say so." I shrugged and took a bite out of a miniature cheeseburger I had picked up.

We continued to eat in silence for a few more minutes, when suddenly Jehiel leapt up in my lap. "Master! Are you going to eat that?!" He asked as he hungrily looked at a small Tauros steak on my plate.

I turned around to look at his plate on the floor. "Don't you have your own...food..." The plate was completely empty, streaks indicating that someone must have literally licked it clean. Ramiel was lying down and resting with his head on his paws next to the plate, seemingly full, while Zethro surprisingly also seemed to be satisfied, although he stared a bit mournfully at the empty plate. Jehiel was apparently another matter entirely. "Do you really need anymore?"

"Well, I suppose I don't _need_ anymore..." Jehiel seemed thoughtful on the subject. "But I do _want_ more!"

"Well too bad. The last thing I want is for my Pokémon to get fat just days before we take on a gym leader." _Is it just me, or are my Pokémon walking stomachs? Are they really Swalots in disguise or something?_

"But Master... I'm, well, not really hungry, yet as I said I want more food!" Jehiel whined and I shook my head.

"I think we'll be leaving soon anyways. I'm pretty much done, and Aira, Ramiel, and Zethro have been done for a while now."

"After this we're going to the police station to tell them about the Crimson Dawn, right?" Aira asked.

"While I'd love to stay and hang out here some, yes, we are. I guess I can come back here sometime else. Who knows, maybe I can find someone here to battle as practice for Noah..."

"He's the gym leader now?"

_Now? So she does know him?_ "Yeah. I can't wait to take him on."

"Food..." Jehiel whined. "I could eat a whole Tauros now..."

"But you won't." I pulled out Jehiel's Pokéball and held it out threateningly. "This is a nice island with nice weather, no doubt better than in a Pokéball. I'm sure you'd prefer to be out here, right?"

"Yeah... Fine... Maybe you aren't such a great master after all..." Jehiel sighed, trying to guilt-trip me into feeding him. It wasn't working.

_He'll get over it..._ "Good, now that that's settled, let's get going." I finished off the last bit of food on my plate and stood up, picking the plate on the ground up and taking Aira's as well. Zethro hopped back onto his customary position on my shoulder. We all walked inside together and I left the plates on a shelf above a trash can next to the door. As we turned to leave the café, I spotted Noah and nodded to him, him returning my nod. Together our group left the Pokémon Trainer's Café and emerged onto the streets of Dewford Island.

I pulled out my Pokédex and referenced the map on it. "The police station looks to be down this street." I pointed at the indicated street.

Aira smiled. "Let's go. For Fury's sake..."

* * *

**Dewford Island Pokémon Center**

"Dammit! What's going on?!"

Bridget could hardly think clearly as she ran about the small room, grabbing medical instruments and vials of liquid off various shelves. Something was going very wrong.

The heart rate monitors connected to the three Pokémon—an Absol, Espeon, and Houndour—that lay on the tables in the room were beeping very slowly, the line across them almost flat. Something was very, very wrong.

"This can't be happening! It's not right!"

Bridget hurried from table to table, injecting some sort of green fluid into each of the Pokémon. She had tried calling a doctor, yet none had come. The Pokémon Center hadn't been very busy lately, and so few doctors were on hand at most times. To add to that, it was currently lunch time and what few doctors were working were on their lunch breaks. Outside the Pokémon Center, and thus unable to hear the intercom. Things were falling apart.

"What did I do wrong...? Everything went right, they were fine! But then... What is this...? What's going on?!" Bridget screamed out in exasperation.

Behind her the door to the room opened.

"Thank goodness! Doctor, maybe you..." Bridget turned around, however the person who had entered the room was definitely not a doctor.

"Stand aside." The person was tall, and a large white cloak hid his entire body. A hood was pulled over his head, and all Bridget could see underneath was a metallic glint, as if light was being reflected off a pair of glasses or something.

"You're not supposed to be in here! And at this time..."

"I am their only hope. Their savior. Stand aside."

As if through some magical force that compelled her to obey the mysterious man's words, Bridget slowly stepped out of the man's path. The man walked over to the tables and looked at each in turn, before raising a bony and aged hand into the air. Bridget could tell that the man was concentrating heavily, but before she could say anything more a light flashed underneath his hand in the air. Bridget stared amazed as a small beam of light formed the shape of a circle in midair under has hand, before forming a five-pointed star inside the circle which rotated slowly. The star of light grew gradually brighter, before it suddenly broke apart into three spheres of pure light, each one flying over one of the Pokémon.

"Resurrection!" The man suddenly boomed out, his voice reverberating powerfully around the room.

At the same time as the man said that single word, the spheres of light plunged downwards and merged with the three Pokémon. The heart rate monitors went crazy and Bridget had to resist herself from running forward. The Pokémon began to glow, but through the bright light Bridget was able to see the wounds on them sealing closed on their own. Finally, the light seemed to burst out of the three Pokémon and scattered through the air, dissipating like dust in the wind. The heart rate monitors began to beep at a normal rate.

"What did you do...?" Bridget gasped, looking up at the man.

"The girl Rayne will know." Those were the last words the man said as he walked out of the room and into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

"Wait, come back here!" Bridget hurried out into the hall after the man. No one was there. He had disappeared.

Bridget turned back and looked inside the room. It was as if the three Pokémon had never been hurt in the first place.

_What in the world is going on...?_

**End of Chapter 19**_  
_


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**Rayne**

The room was silent as I sat on my bed, holding a book in one hand that I had started reading months ago while back in the Pokémon Academy, attempting to finally finish it. Some people would probably find such silence unnerving, but I found it comforting.

_"Rayne... Come quickly..."_

My attention on the book was instantly lost as the voice ran through my head. "Matariel..." I whispered. I had no way to respond to her and ask her what was wrong, though; I lacked the ability to send the telepathic messages that she mysteriously possessed, no matter how great my other powers apparently were.

Snapping the book closed, I set it down on my bed and quickly stood up, pulling on the shoes I had set on the floor at the foot of the bed. Hurrying out into the hallway, I retraced my steps from last night out to the foyer and through the unlocked door into the back hallways of the Pokémon Center. I had no idea where I was going, my feet guiding me through those hospital-like halls as if operated by some force all their own.

Suddenly, I felt every hair on my body rise as a surge of power swelled through me, emanating from my unknown destination like a wave. _This power... I've felt it before..._ I stopped moving and supported myself against a wall with one arm, holding my head with my other as I groaned. Images flashed through my head of the fringes of a forest, a small girl lying on the grass upside down with a white-furred Pokémon lying next to her. Both were seemingly unconscious. A man in a white cloak suddenly walked up to them, kneeling down and brushing a strand of loose hair out of the girl's eyes. He held a hand above the two, and a bright, white light suddenly flashed. He then picked up the girl, the Pokémon waking up on its own and following on its own legs as the man turned and walked away, the girl carried in his arms.

_Another memory; unlocked..._ I let the hand holding my head drop down to my side. Shaking my head I looked up; I was still alone in the hallway. Another miniscule piece of the past in mind, I began to jog down the halls, following the wave of power I had felt back to its source. Rounding a corner I saw an open doorway and instinctively knew that it was where that wave of power had burst from. I walked through the door and almost ran right into a nurse who had been staring out through it. As we looked at each other, I realized I recognized her.

"You're Bridget, aren't you?" I asked.

"Yes... Rayne, correct? What are you doing here?" Bridget took a step back, allowing me into the room. I entered and ignored her question as I hurried over to the tables in the room, on which three different Pokémon lay.

"Matariel, are you all right? What happened? I...felt something." I lay my hand on her shoulder as she looked up at me. Looking over her body, I noticed that there wasn't a single mark on her. It was as if she had never been hurt. I looked up and scanned my eyes across the other two Pokémon in the room; an Espeon and a Houndour. They were both uninjured as well, and their eyes were starting to open as they regained consciousness.

"The Crimson Dawn, they must have done something to us before we left... Some kind of 'curse' with a delayed effect I guess you humans would put it. It was activated only a short while ago. We would have died if it hadn't been for this man who used some sort of restorative Arcana Energy technique on us," Matariel explained as she stood up, testing her legs out by flexing them some before jumping off the table, satisfied that her legs could support her weight again. "And now, I seem to be fine again."

"He wore a white cloak, didn't he? And are you sure that it was Arcana Energy?" I asked, thinking of what I had remembered in the hall.

"Yes, a white cloak. And I am sure that it was Arcana Energy. He seemed to be quite the expert at channeling it; it is likely he's been using it for a while now."

"He's been using it for at least three years, I can say that much... Such immense power..." I thoughtfully held my chin and looked at the ground for a moment while I thought.

"You think he was the same person that found us those three years ago?"

My eyes shot open wide and I looked up at Matariel who stood in front of me, looking the same as she ever did. There was no way to tell from her physical appearance what she had been through. "You remember that? I only just now do..."

"Of course. If you can remember now, then you must remember that I woke up then and saw him. You were unconscious at the time. Or at least, so I thought. For you to have memories of when this man found us must mean that some part of your conscious was alert enough to realize what was going on, even if you forgot it until now along with the rest of your past."

"Why have you not told me before?! If it had just been some normal person who came and found us, I could understand; but this person seemed to use some sort of Arcana Energy technique on us back then as well, perhaps the same one he used on you three just now. What else are you hiding from me?!" I couldn't hide the anger I felt for Matariel at the moment; I almost felt betrayed by her withholding information like this.

"You must remember all else on your own. Your past is for you and you alone to discover and unlock." Matariel remained calm, staring at me with eyes that showed no sign of emotion.

Instinctively I clutched the ring suspended on a necklace around my neck, sighing as the memory of my mom giving me the ring came back to me. Did Matariel know about that as well? This wasn't like her to hold back information from me, although such circumstances hadn't happened before so maybe this was just a new side of her I was finally seeing.

"Hello? What's going on? Are you talking to yourself?" Bridget's voice snapped me back to my senses and I looked up, finding her standing near the door and looking at me and Matariel oddly. She had heard everything, or at least everything I had said. Of course, she couldn't understand Matariel; she did not have my ability or Shrike and Aira's translator.

I thought for a moment more before walking over to the door, looking out into the hallway in both directions to ensure no one was there. Ducking back into the room I closed the door behind me, walking over to Bridget and grabbing her by the shoulders

"Ah! What do you think you're doing?!" she shrieked as she tried to push me away. I was stronger than her, though, and managed to pull her over to the table Matariel had been lying on and made her sit on it.

"Can I trust you?" I asked her, bending forward with my hands on my hips as I stared into her eyes.

"Trust me with what?" She was getting more confused by the second.

"Matariel, do you think I can trust her?"

"Yes. I sense no evil about her. You have nothing to worry about from her."

"I agree. I see no evil in her eyes either." I stepped back and paced back and forth for a moment while Bridget sat on the table, her head following my movements. Matariel sat next to the table, watching the door and seemingly paying no further attention to us.

"Bridget, to alleviate your confusion, I am going to tell you the story of mine and Shrike's journey together. You must agree that you will keep it a secret, however. Is this agreeable?" I stopped pacing and stood in front of Bridget. She nodded.

"Yes, I feel that I have already seen too much with that man... Wait, he said that you'd know what he did. Do you know each other? What _was_ it?"

"Arcana Energy. And no, I don't know him." _But if he knows me, this only confirms that he is the same man who found us three years ago..._

"What energy?" Bridget's confusion seemed to know no end.

"First, I will tell you right now that I can understand what Pokémon say. Shrike and Aira can as well, but through different means. They have special translators called Pokécoms that are, in all likelihood, permanently stuck in their ears now. I have some sort of special power instead, which likely stems from the other Arcana Energy powers I naturally have. Now, have you heard of the disaster that occurred at Petalburg City...?"

* * *

**Shrike**

"Hello, may I help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to report a crime!" Aira walked up to the reception desk in the police station, firmly planted her hands on it, and stared at the woman dressed in a blue police uniform behind it.

"Well, er, what kind of crime...?" The police officer asked, shirking back slightly from Aira's gaze.

"My Houndour was almost killed! There were these bad people, the Crimson Dawn they called themselves, and they almost killed Fury!" Aira practically shouted.

"Aira, perhaps you should let me handle this..." I whispered to her. Glancing back behind me, I checked to make sure that Jehiel and Ramiel weren't doing anything troublesome before looking up at the police officer. "Abduction, torture, and attempted murder all in one. If possible, I'd like to speak to the chief of police directly about this situation," I said in answer to her question

"The Crimson Dawn? Are they one of the gangs? If so, I require you to fill out this form here..." The police officer began shuffling around in her desk for some paper, but Aira interrupted her.

"No! They're not a gang! They're a cult!" Aira pounded her fists on the desk and I sighed.

_This...isn't going well..._

"A...cult? Um, can you provide more information about this...cult?" She obviously didn't believe us. I couldn't fault her.

Before Aira could say anything more I quickly spoke up and gave the police officer a run down of what had happened to us. "Now can we speak to the chief of police?" I asked when I was finished explaining what had happened.

"I'm sorry to say that we've never heard of this Crimson Dawn cult before. That along with the sheer bizarreness of your story, and I find it hard to believe you without any substantial evidence. If you are able to produce some evidence regarding this cult, then we may consider investigating further." The police officer shook her head and shrugged.

"There's the Pokémon that were tortured. We can show you their injuries," I told the police officer. _There's also the boat, however they may decide to keep it as evidence and I have an odd feeling that we should hold onto that boat and keep it close at hand..._

Just as I said that, my cell phone started ringing. "Excuse me." I quickly said and pulled the cell phone out of its belt clip, flipping it open and holding it to my air. "Hello?"

"Shrike? This is Rayne. Something has happened. All three Pokémon have been completely healed due to some man that was able to channel Arcana Energy. It'd probably be better if we spoke in person, so get back down here immediately. Tell Aira that Fury is fine and has been demanding to know where she is."

"Completely healed?! Is there any evidence of their injuries at all?!" I was slightly frantic, even though I knew this was an overall good occurrence.

"No, not a single scratch. That's one of the reasons I find this man so interesting. To be able to restore physical life so thoroughly... It is evident that this person was no newcomer when it comes to Arcana Energy."

"Gotcha. We'll be back there ASAP. Speak to you later." I snapped the phone closed and hung it back in its clip, tapping my cheek.

"It seems our evidence has disappeared..." I mumbled. _If this had happened a few days ago I might have been surprised. But after what has happened these past few days..._

"What?! You don't mean..." Aira leaped at me, her eyes wide. I grinned and patted her shoulder.

"No, not like that. It seems they've made a miraculously complete recovery. Fury's been wanting to see you, Rayne says. Let's go, don't want to keep them waiting any longer."

"But...the police...!" Aira seemed desperate now to find someway to get the police officer to believe us.

"I'm sorry, but as I said, your story is simply too farfetched to believe without evidence, and we can't expend the resources to chase after rumors with how tightly stretched we are with the gang activity lately." The police officer put her hands up in air and shrugged. "Please accept my apologies."

"Come on, let's go." Placing my hand on Aira's shoulder, I guided her to the doors with Jehiel and Ramiel following as she stared down at the ground, her only hope for retribution gone. Of course, that retribution was apparently no longer needed. _A man who suddenly appeared and used Arcana Energy? Just who is this guy...?  
_

* * *

"Fury!" 

"Aira!"

I had recalled the three of my Pokémon into their Pokéballs at the request of a nurse, and so was left standing in the doorway myself, watching with amusement as Aira ran into the recovery room that Fury, Matariel, and Oriel had been moved to. Rayne—leaning against a wall with her arms crossed—and Bridget—sitting in a chair and looking at the Pokémon—were already waiting inside for us. Fury was starting to get up from the bed he lay in, but Aira rushed over to him and knelt down alongside it, resting her hands on him to keep him from getting up.

"Stay in bed for now, you need your rest..." Aira whispered to the Houndour as she hugged him, happy tears flowing from her eyes.

"I was worried I'd never see you again... But now that you're here..." Fury nuzzled against Aira and I shook my head, turning my attention away from them.

_Let's let them have their little moment in peace..._ I looked around the room again and noticed that while there were three beds in it, only two were occupied. Matariel was standing alongside Rayne and seemed as if she was ready for anything again. Both Oriel and Fury seemed to be fine as well, if not tired. "When you said a full recovery, you really meant it," I said as I walked over to Rayne.

She nodded. "If you want proof of the power of Arcana Energy, you've now got it."

"I got enough proof from that stunt CORE pulled back in Petalburg... Of course, back then I didn't understand what was meant by an 'Arcana Energy Wave Generator,' but now that I do..." Suddenly I remembered that Bridget was standing there as well and momentarily freaked out. "Uh, you didn't hear that just now, did you?" _Oh man... Did I just give away too much?_

"I've already told her everything. We can trust her," Rayne said, glancing down at Matariel.

"It all sounds quite fascinating, and I'm surprised you've been through all you have in such a short time and come out unharmed. Well, your Pokémon notwithstanding..." Bridget said.

"I see... Well, I suppose that just means we have one more ally in our fight against CORE and the Crimson Dawn."

"Who said we were fighting anyone?" Rayne quickly spoke up.

"Well, I somehow doubt we've seen the last of both of them, and we can't just keep running forever. There will come a point when we'll have to take up the offensive." I shrugged.

"That sounds dangerous, though... Are you really prepared to fight two separate organizations, which each sound dangerous on their own rights, without any weapons of your own other than your Pokémon's abilities? Pokémon trainers going up against a cult and a research group that is more like a military; it sounds like disaster to me," Bridget said.

I rubbed my chin thoughtfully and my thoughts flashed back to my childhood. _I'll have to try that out again sometime... It might be fun, at the least... _I thought to myself as I remembered how I used to play sword fighting with my friends using tree branches. We were never very serious about it, but they had always said I was the best out of our group. _The Crimson Dawn use swords at least. Fight fire with fire!_ I began to chuckle at the thought of me actually fighting with a real sword, when I realized Rayne was eyeing me.

"A thought you'd like to share?" She asked.

"No, no. It's nothing. Bridget mentioning weapons made me think of when my friends and I would play sword fights. I was laughing at the thought of me fighting with a real sword, is all."

Rayne raised an eyebrow. "If you're serious about fighting CORE and the Crimson Dawn, who knows what it may come to. You've already handled a gun once."

"Tch, like I actually did anything with it other than empty the entire clip at air. You, on the other hand... I saw the aftermath of your little shooting spree while we were leaving the CORE base. I've been trying to forget about it ever since..." I lowered my eyes and shuddered. "I suppose you're ready to fight, at least..."

Rayne remained silent, but I noticed her fist clench. A few minutes passed in silence.

"Rayne, can I ask what happened to you and Aira with the Crimson Dawn while you were kidnapped by them?" I suddenly asked.

"We met their High Chancellor. He told us some stuff which you'll probably find interesting, such as the legend of the angel Zeruel." Rayne went on to recount in detail what had happened to them. I nodded as I listened, making mental notes. Rayne was right, I did find myself particularly interested in the legend of Zeruel.

_I'll ask him about all this... Tonight. Yeah...if anyone will know about all this stuff, he will... I'll have to be sure not to tell him anything that will give away why I'm asking, though... I'm not quite sure I can trust him to keep a secret like this..._ I rubbed my chin before looking up at Rayne again. "Rayne, I'll tell you this right now. I know this guy who's pretty much the smartest person you can find. If he doesn't know something immediately, you can count on him to find whatever it is out for you, even. I don't know how he does it, I don't know him in person, and truth be told I don't very know much about him at all. He's pretty much an enigma; however he's an insanely smart enigma. I've talked to him before and we're sort of friends, and I plan to ask him if he knows or can dig up anything on any of this."

Rayne frowned and narrowed her eyes. "Be extremely careful not to say more than should be said... However, if you feel we can learn something important from this guy, it may turn out to be worthwhile..."

I nodded. "I have a feeling that we will, yeah. Hey, I have some homework that was due about a week ago that I've pretty much forgotten about due to everything that's been happening. I guess I should do it now that we finally have a break, so I'll see you later."

* * *

Back in our room, I collapsed on my bed, wondering why I was so exhausted when it was only the middle of the afternoon. I contemplated letting my Pokémon out again, but decided that I would probably be able to focus better on my homework without them. 

I pulled my tablet PC out of my backpack and brushed some dirt and sand off of it. _I need to clean out my backpack..._ I flipped back the plastic cover that protected the Tablet PC's screen from damage while not in use and hit the power button on it, popping a stylus out of its holder on the device. The very first thing I saw upon the computer's boot-up was an email from none other than Professor Jura. I scanned it over and found that it was pretty much just him scolding me for being so late with my homework, and saying that no matter how demanding my travels were that I needed to have some responsibility with my schoolwork. _He has no idea what I've been through..._

I quickly replied with an email of my own that I was getting to work on the homework immediately, and that the situations I had been in lately had all but cut off my ability to focus on something as petty as homework (of course, I didn't say exactly that). Sending the message off, I connected to the website I got all my homework from and felt a sinking feeling as a long, seemingly unending list of tasks I had to do stared me in the face. Sighing, I downloaded all the documents I needed for the homework and pulled open the first assignment document, trying to get back in the mind of a student as I set to work.

I wasn't able to stay in that state of mind for long, however. After about an hour with only nine different assignments completed my attention started to waver from my work. I quickly finished the tenth assignment and realized that I was bored. Minimizing the folder I kept all my schoolwork in, I stared at my desktop for about five minutes trying to figure out what I wanted to do.

_Maybe now's the time..._

Swiftly I opened my chat client and, taping my chin, initiated a private chat session with the person who I knew as Daedalus, and who seemed to know more about anything than was humanly possible.

_::::Private chat session with user "Daedalus" at IP 69.214.212.151 requested. Sending request...  
::::Request received. User "Daedalus" requires authentication for all private chat sessions.  
::::Please enter password now:  
::::Password accepted. Initiating private chat session through a secured connection. All chat sessions are being monitored and logged by user "Daedalus"  
::FireBird: Hey, Daedalus. Long time no see.  
::Daedalus: Is there something you need of me, Shrike?  
::FireBird: Always clear and right to the point... Yes there is, in fact.  
__::Daedalus: That fact was obvious to me. You yourself are not one for small talk, and all our communications in the past have been about me assisting you.  
__::FireBird: Well, I never figured you were one to talk freely about yourself, so I never tried.  
__::Daedalus: That is correct. Now, what is it that your require assistance with?  
__::FireBird: I need information, and I figured that you're the best, if not the only person I could come to about it.  
__::Daedalus: A corporate or government secret, then?  
__::FireBird: No, something a bit more occult. Have you ever heard of Arcana Energy?  
__::Daedalus: Yes, I have, and I must admit that I am very surprised for the topic of Arcana Energy to come up. No on has ever asked me about it before now.  
__::FireBird: You have? What all can you tell me about it?  
__::Daedalus: Why do you want to know about such an abstract and mysterious phenomenon?  
__::FireBird: That is my business alone.  
__::Daedalus: I see. Arcana Energy goes by many different names, with no standard on what it is called. The second most popular name for Arcana Energy is Aura Energy, or sometimes just Aura. Another is Wave Energy. Arcana Energy has been described by some people to be the building blocks on which the universe and everything in it is created. There is no scientific explanation for Arcana Energy, and as such the science community at large has ignored it to the point where many scientists and the general public do not even know it exists.  
__::Daedalus: Arcana Energy has three different, distinctive types which are used in the creation of different objects. One of these different types is used for the creation and composition of different life forms. One is used in the composition of all human life, one in the composition of all Pokémon life, and another for the composition of all celestial life. Inanimate objects use a combination of all three. There is no known difference between the three types of Arcana Energy.  
__::Daedalus: Arcana Energy can be channeled by some life forms. All Pokémon posses the ability to channel Arcana Energy to an extent. This is the cause for their natural resistance to elemental damage, as well as their special abilities which have been looked at extensively by the scientific community. Some humans can channel Arcana Energy as well, however it is a trait that is becoming progressively rarer, to the point that most humans who can channel Arcana Energy nowadays are not aware that they posses the ability.  
__::Daedalus: More common than being able to channel Arcana Energy is the lesser ability to see Arcana Energy. All channelers of Arcana Energy can see it if they try, however not all people who can see Arcana Energy can channel it. People who claim to be able to see auras around people are actually seeing that person's Arcana Energy makeup. When viewed, the three types of Arcana Energy adapt distinctive colors which can vary in shade between individuals; green for human Arcana Energy, red for Pokémon Arcana Energy, and blue for celestial Arcana Energy.  
__::Daedalus: When channeling Arcana Energy, the channeler is able to utilize it in an infinite amount of ways. Perhaps the simplest use of channeling Arcana Energy is what most Pokémon use it for, to generate elemental attacks. More complex is the ability to materialize Arcana Energy into physical matter. Even more complex are restorative techniques that can be used to restore and repair other life forms. In general, using Arcana Energy on oneself is complicated, however not impossible. If the channeler can gain this ability, they can then use Arcana Energy to augment and strengthen their own bodies.  
__::Daedalus: There is still more I can tell you about Arcana Energy right now, but most of it is information on its scientific properties that I am assuming you do not need to hear.  
__::FireBird: Thank you for telling me all this; it was very informative. You are correct in assuming that I do not care about the scientific properties of Arcana Energy, I learned everything I needed to from what you've told me.  
__::Daedalus: I am always glad to assist others. Is there anything more you would like to know?  
__::FireBird: Well, yes. There is. There are two organizations that I would like information on. The first is the Collective for Organic Research and Engineering, or CORE. The second is more mysterious and harder to find information on. In fact, I doubt you can find out anything about them through normal channels. They are called the Crimson Dawn. Then there's a third thing, an angel called Zeruel and some sort of legend about the creation of Pokémon that goes along with him.  
__::Daedalus: ...  
__::FireBird: Is something wrong?  
__::Daedalus: No, it is only that I am even more surprised to hear the Crimson Dawn come up, and I can't help but wonder what trouble you may be in.  
__::FireBird: Trouble? Why do you think I'm in trouble?  
__::Daedalus: It is nothing. I am sorry to inform you, however, that I know little about the Crimson Dawn or this Zeruel at current. If you can contact me again tomorrow, I will have had time to look up more on them, however.  
__::FireBird: That is fine. And CORE?  
__::Daedalus: They are no problem. I can likely tell you all you want to know right now, if you want.  
__::FireBird: Well then, go ahead.  
__::Daedalus: I assume you already know what the public knows, that they are a research and engineering firm specializing in biotechnologies?  
__::FireBird: Yes, that's pretty much it.  
__::Daedalus: If this was one year ago, you would be correct in thinking that. However you can almost completely forget that now.  
__::Daedalus: About a year ago, the previous president of CORE was assassinated. The assassination was kept secret, and has never been revealed to the public. Investigations into the assassinations have turned up nothing, and have all but been dropped by now.  
__::Daedalus: A man calling himself Lord Fira has since taken over CORE; partially by force, and partially by bribes. Rumors say that he was directly involved in the assassination, but they are only rumors.  
__::Daedalus: In only a single year Lord Fira has made huge changes to the inner workings of CORE. He dropped most of the projects that were previously being worked on, as well as firing and in some cases even silently executing thousands of workers and scientists who have objected to him and what he has been turning CORE into.  
__::Daedalus: The new projects Lord Fira has started development on are drastically unlike what CORE was previously researching. The vast majority of their current projects are Arcana Energy-based weapons and other technology, with few projects reflecting the corporation's biotechnology origins. The only current projects of theirs that really does is top secret, and the only information that I have been able to obtain on it is that it involves genetic work with both humans and Pokémon.  
__::Daedalus: In short, CORE has changed from a normal biotech firm to a military-focused research and development group. It is also important to note that several truly military divisions have sprung up under CORE since Lord Fira's inception as head of CORE. While still in a young state, these divisions are currently being trained in the use of both typical weapons as well as the atypical weapons CORE has been developing.  
__::FireBird: Wow, and no one knows about this?  
__::Daedalus: The government and police are either not concerned with CORE's activities, truly do not know of this, or are receiving bribes from CORE to keep quiet.  
__::FireBird: I like conspiracies. I'll go with the last option.  
__::Daedalus: Other than the Crimson Dawn and this angel Zeruel, is there anything else you would like to know right now?  
__::FireBird: No, I think that's it.  
__::Daedalus: Very well. Contact me around this same time tomorrow and I will have the rest of the information you want. It was a pleasure talking to you again.  
__::FireBird: Here too. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then.  
__::::User "Daedalus" has terminated the private chat session._

"Well, that was interesting..." I thought out loud.

"What was?"

I looked up and found Rayne standing in the doorway. She was alone. "I talked to Daedalus, that guy I mentioned. He told me a bunch of stuff about Arcana Energy and CORE, and will be looking up more about the Crimson Dawn and Zeruel."

"You didn't mention why you want to know this?" Rayne's eyes narrowed.

"No, no. He was surprised that I wanted to know about all this, but I didn't tell him why."

"Good. Now, mind sharing what he told you?" Rayne walked over to my bed and pulled over a small chair that set next to the door leading out to the balcony. She sat down on it backwards, leaning against the chair's back and staring at me.

I quickly told her what Daedalus had told me about Arcana Energy and CORE. She nodded at certain parts of what I said, and I guessed she knew some of it already. "Yes, I had figured as much," she said when I finished telling her everything. "I knew some of what he told you about Arcana Energy already, but some of it is also new to me as is all the information about CORE. So Aura Energy and Arcana Energy are the same thing, huh...?"

"That's what Daedalus said, and I trust him. Now we just have to wait until tomorrow and see what he has to say about the Crimson Dawn and Zeruel. Where's Matariel?" That question had been on my mind since I saw her by herself. Since Matariel was better again, I figured they'd be back together.

"Bridget said it would be a good idea to keep the Pokémon in bed for a little while more, just in case anything else happens." Rayne stood up and pushed the chair aside. "I have some business to take care of. I don't know if I'll be back tonight." Without another word she turned and left the room, leaving me alone again.

"I wish she would tell me more..." I sighed, before looking back at my tablet PC. "Well, guess I have more homework to do still...

* * *

I didn't see Rayne again that day. Where she went off to I had no idea, however I knew that despite my curiosity it was none of my business. The rest of the day after she left continued on pretty normally. I worked on my homework some more and got about half of all I had to do done. I then played some video games before heading out for dinner with Aira, Zethro, Jehiel, and Ramiel again. After dinner Aira went back to the Pokémon Center and I found a small, empty beach that I could use to practice on. I took turns with the three of my Pokémon, getting them all ready for my upcoming battle with Noah. 

They all performed pretty well, with Zethro being the best, Jehiel behind him—much to his dismay—and Ramiel last. I made a mental note to give Ramiel more training time than the others over the next few days. By the time our training was over, the sun was beginning to set and we were all pretty worn out. To let them rest I recalled all my Pokémon into their Pokéballs, and then to let me rest I flagged down a taxi and took it back to the Pokémon Center. Upon entering our room again, I found that Rayne was still gone, and the door to the balcony was open.

I set down my backpack—which I had brought out with me this time—by my bed and walked out onto the balcony, finding Aira leaning against the railing and looking out at the ocean and orange sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Aira asked as I walked out onto the balcony.

"Well, I guess so..."

"Earlier today, when the police wouldn't believe us, I was heartbroken... But seeing Fury again today has cheered me up some. In fact, now that I know he's going to be fine I feel a whole lot better. Still, there's got to be something we can do to make the police believe us..."

"Maybe there is. We'll just have to wait and see how things turn out. For now, we just have to live day by day and see what is in store for us."

"I guess so... You said you want to hear more about my past, right?"

"Yes, I do. If we're going to be traveling together, I don't think we should hide secrets from each other."

"Then I'll tell you, on one condition. You will then tell me about your past as well."

I nodded. "That sounds fair. Although I don't think there's much interesting about my past."

Aira smiled, taking her eyes off the sky and looking at me. "Well, as I said before in that Crimson Dawn place..."

* * *

**Elsewhere**

"Take a seat. Now."

Lord Fira sat at his desk in the CORE headquarters, arms folded across his chest and eyes glaring at the person who stood across the desk from him. Hastily the person plopped himself down in one of the chairs that faced Lord Fira's desk, not wanting to agitate Lord Fira even more than he already was. "Sir, I've done as you—"

"Shut up. You will only speak when I say you can. Now, you've got the information I asked for?"

"Yes, I do. I think you will be—"

"Quiet, fool. You will also only say what needs to be said; don't try to suck up to me and get on my good side, because at the moment I don't have one!"

The hapless man opened his mouth to apologize for his insolence, but quickly shut it again at a chilling glare from Lord Fira.

"Now, I asked you to get the reports from the investigators who have been looking into the incident at laboratory thirteen. Now tell me, what did they find?"

"Well, sir, they believe the explosion was caused by the Arcanum Reactor destabilizing, thus resulting in the explosion that wiped out the entire lab and nearly everyone in it. They are not sure what caused the destabilization, but have reason to believe that it was because of sabotage from someone within us."

Lord Fira narrowed his eyes. "Sabotage? From a traitor within our own ranks? Speak up about this now or never speak again!"

The man gulped, sweat pouring down his face. "Well, while they are not sure who caused it, they have taken a look at retrieved records and security videos from the wreckage, as well as at all the rest of our laboratories and bases. Almost all CORE personnel has been accounted for in the hours and days leading up to the explosion. The most prominent person who has not been accounted for is Commander Zachary J. Reilyn of the third division of the field research and testing unit, otherwise known as section nine. He was the commander at the Petalburg base when the prototype Arcanum Energy Wave Generator cannon was being field tested. He disappeared after the disaster there and hasn't been seen or heard from since."

"Commander Reilyn... I have my own suspicions about him as well. Before you so insolently ask, I believe he may have assisted those three trainers during the Petalburg incident. Now, is there any information on what happened to Azrael after the explosion?"

"Azrael, sir?

"The subject of Project Thanatos. The explosion occurred right after its awakening sequence was completed."

"Ah, yes. I am sorry to say but no one seems to have any idea what happened to it. It was not recovered, and reports show that a hole was blown in the wall of its holding tank. If it was successfully awakened just prior to the explosion, it is possible that he may have escaped."

"We definitely cannot have that. For your next order, report back to the investigation team and tell them to put all their efforts towards locating what happened to Azrael, and recovering him if need be."

"Sir, it will be done. Also, if you will let me speak, there is one more thing I must tell you."

"Say it then get out of here."

"It is about the development on the AWP pistol. It seems that the prototype has gone missing. Would you also like the investigation team to look into the missing AWP pistol prototype?"

Lord Fira raised an eyebrow. "It is possible that whoever sabotaged laboratory thirteen may now be trying to sabotage other parts of us as well. However, the Arcanum Wave Pulse pistol, or AWP pistol as you seem to wish to call it for lord knows what reason, is hardly anything to get worked up over. My order to put all investigative efforts towards locating Azrael still stands."

"If that is what you command." The man rose and gave a stiff bow and salute, before turning and leaving the room as quick as he could without running.

After the man was gone and Lord Fira was alone in the room, a smirk spread across his face and he quietly chuckled.

**End of Chapter 20**


	21. Chapter 21

_Author's Note: Sorry for the wait,I've...been sort of lazy these past few months or so on updating on here. As such, I now have a backlog of three chapters to update with here. Rest assured though, TFC is not dead. I might have slowed down some (actually, my writing speed seems to vary a lot...), but TFC is very much alive. Again, sorry for the wait; I hope you enjoy these three chapters._

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**Aira****; the Past,**** Year 2039**

"Sleep, child. Rest your body now, so that in the morning you will be rested and I can teach you about Pokémon battling, as you've been wanting."

I gasped as I rolled over on my bed, underneath the pink sheets printed with pictures of a variety of cute Pokémon. "Really? Really, Mama? You're going to teach me about Pokémon battles?"

"Yes, I will." Mom smiled as she gently stroked my hair and bent down, kissing me on the cheek. "While there's still years to go before you can set out on your own Pokémon journey, it is always a wise idea to start preparing and training as early as possible."

I pulled my arms out from under my sheets and grabbed Mom's hand. "Thank you. And will you promise me one thing?"

"What is that, dear?"

"I want Papa to be there as well."

Mom laughed lightly. "Of course, dear. He would not miss out on the day his daughter started on the path to being a trainer, even if it cost him his life."

Something inside me stirred at those words, but I ignored it as I closed my eyes, a smile forming on my lips. "I can use a cute Pokémon, right? I don't like ugly Pokémon."

Mom bent down and kissed my cheeks again before standing up. "I'll go out and catch whatever you want to use myself, if need be."

"Then go and catch me a Mew." I smiled as I opened my eyes again and turned my head to look at Mom, who was laughing.

"I would if I could, dear. I think you'll have to settle for something a little more common for now, though. But for the moment, just go to sleep."

"Yes, Mama. Thank you..."

"You're welcome, my dear child, Aira..."

* * *

**Present Day,**** Year**** 2046**

"...That was the night it happened, right? The day your parents were killed." Shrike asked turning to look at me.

"Yes, it was."

"This must be hard for you..."

I shook my head. "It's never been easy these past six or so years."

"Is there nothing important that happened before that? Jumping straight to this..."

"Not much. I had friends who I played with and I went to school, just like any other kid. I would always watch my parents battle together and dream of one day finding a man I loved and battling together with him just like my parents. But, obviously, that was not to be."

"Don't say that. You're only fourteen, just like me. We both have much of our lives ahead of us still."

"Yeah, I guess you're right... I should continue on now."

* * *

**The Past, Year 2039**

A bright flash of lightning and accompanying crack of thunder stirred me from my sleep. Rubbing my eyes, I shivered at the cold night air that permeated the house and pulled my sheets up further, turning away from the window. I wasn't scared of thunderstorms, perhaps because of my parent's tendency to use electric Pokémon, but that didn't mean I liked them, or was unaffected by them.

Just as I was starting to drift back to sleep again, another sound drew my attention. I heard the sound of glass breaking in the hallway, and through my door—which was open a crack—I saw a black silhouette pass by.

Curiosity overcame me and I slid out of my bed, quietly walking over to the door and peering out into the dark hallway. To the left from my room was the end of the hallway, with a recently broken glass window situated in its center. Glass shards lay scattered underneath the window, on the rug that ran the length of the hallway. Slipping out of the room I avoided the glass and walked down the hallway to my right. Just as I came out of my room I saw the dark shadow-like form I had seen before turn around the corner at the end of the hallway. Hurriedly I ran after it, my young age making me curious and oblivious to danger instead of afraid of the mysterious being that had broken through our window and was now loose in our house.

I got to the corner just in time to see the thing disappear into the room at the end of the hallway; my parents' room. The door was pulled closed behind it, but it didn't latch properly and bounced back open a little, leaving enough of an opening for me to be able to look through and see the inside of my parents' room clearly.

Mom and Dad lay asleep together on their bed, their arms wrapped around each other. The thing I had been following walked slowly to the center of the room, facing the bed. I was now able to see that it appeared to be a human wearing a black cloak, with a hood hiding their face.

"You, Tainted. Wake now and face me." The voice was loud and booming, and I knew that if I hadn't already woken I would have at that voice, even down the hall and in my room. I couldn't help but notice that the voice seemed artificial, as if the person's true voice was being somehow modified to make them seem more intimidating, or to hide their identity.

As if obeying the person's order my parents' woke up, startled. They turned and looked at the person, when suddenly Dad leapt out of bed and angrily walked towards the person.

"Get out of my house, now! What gives you the right to break in here in the middle of the night and order us around?!" Dad angrily said, waving his fist.

"I am an elite assassin of the High Order. I have been sent under oath to fulfill my chosen duties, and to this end I have been given full authority." The person suddenly reached into their cloak with both hands and pulled out a golden dagger in one hand and a pistol in the other, lowering them to either side of him as he stood facing my parents, standing sideways so as to present a narrow profile to my parents. "Now, send out your Abominations; Pokémon, I believe you call them."

The weapons stopped Dad in his tracks, and he looked nervously between the assassin and Mom. _What is an assassin?_ I wondered meanwhile, having not had much experience with anything that could be considered evil at that point in my life.

"Do as he says, dear. Maybe we won't be hurt."

"An assassin... Huh, this so-called assassin isn't really that intimidating. Hell, see how short he is?" Dad was right, the assassin seemed only a little taller than myself, and the weapons he held, as small as they were, seemed big even for him. "I can protect us with my bare hands." Dad pounded his right fist into his left and cracked his knuckles.

"Is that so?" The assassin suddenly raised his pistol and aimed it Dad's right shoulder. Before Dad could do anything, the trigger was pulled and a loud blast filled the house as a bullet shot forth and pierced through Dad's shoulder. Mom and I both cried out as Dad gasped, his arm slumping down as blood began to pour from the wound. I was frozen in place now, but no one seemed to know I was there; my cry of shock had been obscured by Mom's. "Can you really fight me with your hands now, having to rely on only your lesser hand? Send out your Abominations before I tire of this."

"Damn you... That shot wasn't quiet; the police will be here soon and when they get here, I'll have you put in jail for assault." Dad was talking between clenched teeth as he held his injured shoulder with his remaining good arm.

"I will not be here by the time your police arrive, and neither will you be."

"Anthony, for Pete's sake do as he says! How else can we defend ourselves?!" Mom suddenly exclaimed, getting out of bed and running over to a shelf on the wall, grabbing a belt which had two Pokéballs attached to it off the shelf. Removing the Pokéballs from it and dropping the belt itself, she tossed them into the air. "Raichu, Linoone! We need your protection!"

"Yeah, you're right, Amanda..." Dad hobbled over to a shelf on his side of the room and grabbed a similar belt off it, removing the two Pokéballs from it and throwing them next to where the yellow mouse-like Pokémon with a long, wire-like tail stood alongside a long-bodied, tan ferret Pokémon. "Jolteon, Floatzel; assist us in this fight!"

"Excellent." The assassin seemed pleased as a yellow-furred Pokémon whose fur stood up in spikes appeared along with a tall, proud-looking otter type Pokémon with a yellow buoy wrapped around its neck and lower back. "I will be rewarded greatly for this."

Before either Mom or Dad could give a command to their Pokémon, the assassin turned to face them, flipping his dagger around so he held it with the blade pointing backwards along his arm and putting his pistol away inside his cloak. Swiftly he suddenly charged forward, slashing out at Mom's Raichu, the blade meeting the Pokémon's throat and slicing right through it. The Raichu was down before it even knew what was happening, blood gushing out of its slit throat at a rapid rate. It coughed and gagged a few times amid pained breaths, before its eyes glazed over and it fell silent.

The assassin didn't stop at that, and with his continued momentum from his initial rush ran towards Dad's Jolteon. Jolteon bared its fangs as the assassin approached and electricity began to arc through its fur, but the assassin was far faster than expected and leapt onto its back, wrestling it to the ground with surprising strength for their size. Jolteon thrashed about underneath the assassin as he sat on top of it, quickly thrusting his dagger into Jolteon's neck and pounding it in deeper with his palm a few times until half of the nearly eight inch long blade was buried in the Jolteon's neck. Dad, Mom, and the remaining two Pokémon stared in shock as Jolteon kicked its legs wildly as its tongue rolled out of its mouth, and its eyes stared sorrowfully up at Dad. Finally its movements stopped, a puddle of blood having formed around it from the neck wound which nearly pierced through its entire neck.

Mom shook tears away from her eyes as she stared at the massacre, knowing action had to be taken, and fast. With both anger and sorrow in her voice, she yelled out, "Linoone, Quick Attack!"

The assassin was pulling the dagger out of Jolteon's neck when Linoone charged forward and collided with the assassin, sending him flying backwards. The assassin managed to right himself and came down on his feet, skidding backwards a few feet before coming to a stop against the room's wall. Undeterred and seemingly uninjured, the assassin quickly charged forward again, this time aiming for Linoone. Dodging around Floatzel who ran into his path in an attempt to stop him, even without a command from Dad, the assassin grabbed Linoone in a headlock and pushed it to the ground, flipping it over onto its back in the process. He stabbed the dagger into Linoone's unprotected chest, a gush of blood indicating that he had hit something vital. Giving the dagger a twist, Linoone screamed out in pain as the assassin released it, leaving Linoone to die the slowest death of the Pokémon as it writhed in pain on the ground, swishing its furry tail across the wood floor which was progressively soaked with dark red blood.

Only one Pokémon now remained, Floatzel. It was also the tallest, being taller than the assassin himself even. "A—Aqua Jet!" Dad managed to command. Floatzel roared and charged forward towards the assassin, who held his ground over the dying Linoone. Just as water began to appear out of thin air around Floatzel the assassin jumped up, coming down onto the back of Floatzel as it passed right beneath him, the water from the Aqua Jet attack dissipating. Holding onto Floatzel's yellow buoy, the assassin stabbed into its neck above the buoy with his dagger. Floatzel screamed in pain and collapsed as the assassin began to drag the dagger downwards, slicing through the Floatzel's back. Coming to the buoy, the blade easily sliced through the organic rubber-like materiel it was made of and popped it, the buoy deflating as the assassin continued to lengthen the cut. Mom hid her eyes in her hands and leaned against Dad's shoulder as he stared in frozen terror as the assassin vivisected his Floatzel. Floatzel gave one last whine and fell silent as the assassin finally pulled his dagger out of the Floatzel's carcass, the long cut extending from the Pokémon's neck down to its lower back.

My eyes were wide as I stared at the massacre, so utterly shocked and frozen that I didn't, couldn't, even scream or cry. The bodies of the four Pokémon lay scattered around the floor of my parents' bedroom, their blood spreading out and forming an ever wider puddle. Amid the carnage the assassin stood, holding his blood-splattered dagger in one hand, his once black cloak splattered with blood. The assassin returned the dagger to its sheath, hidden under his cloak, and in the same motion swiftly pulled out his pistol, aiming it at my parents. They too were as shocked as I was, if not more given their deeper attachment to the Pokémon who had just been murdered. My mom leaned against my dad's shoulder, unable to bring herself to look at the bloodbath. My dad's face was twisted into rage as he slowly shook his head; however he could do nothing with one of his arms crippled and his Pokémon dead.

"There will be no mercy for those who side with the Abominations. If you hadn't tried to order them to attack me, perhaps you could have lived. Perhaps."

The hair on the back of my neck rose, despite my age I knew what was going to happen next. Even knowing this, I still couldn't turn away.

_Blam!_

_Blam!_

Before my eyes the assassin pulled the trigger of the pistol twice, swinging it from my dad to my mom in between. In two near simultaneous hits, the bullets pierced straight through my parents' heads. The shots were clean, a contrast to the bloodbath with their Pokémon. I watched as my parents instantly collapsed, their legs no longer able to support the dead weight of their bodies. I watched my parents fall over each other into the puddle of blood that had now spread to where they had been standing. I watched, terrified, as my parents died right before my eyes.

_Mama! Papa!_ I cried out inside my mind, tears welling up in my eyes. I wanted to scream out in agony, to run in and take revenge for my parents' deaths, but all my physical strength was suddenly completely drained.

The assassin looked around at the now six bodies, putting his gun away. He slowly walked between each body and gave each one a hard kick. There was no response from any of them, the corpses flopping over lifelessly at the kick. Satisfied, the assassin spit some sort of metal object out of his mouth and into his hand. Later, I found that the object was called a voice modulator, and was what had been used to change his voice. Putting the voice modulator into a pocket on the inside of his cloak, the assassin turned to face the door and walked over to it. My strength had yet to return, and I couldn't move a muscle as he opened the door with me right behind it.

The assassin looked down at me as I looked up at him, unable to see anything under his hood even when right next to him. Suddenly, a flash of lightning let up the inside of the house and for a brief second I could see the face under the hood. In that brief second I realized that the assassin wasn't a boy after all, but instead a surprisingly young-looking girl.

"I have no orders to kill a child. Leave now, never return to this house or speak of what you saw tonight, and you will not be harmed," the assassin said to me in her true voice, which was much more quiet and feminine than it had been with the voice modulator.

A surge of strength came back to me and I jumped up, running down the hall and into my room, away from the assassin. Grabbing a sheet I stuffed some of my clothes and personal items into it, before running back into the hall, down the stairs, and out through the front door and into the night. I never saw that house in person ever again. From that night on, my entire life and personality were changed forever.

* * *

**Present Day, Year 2046**

Coming out of the sort of trance I had been in while recounting that night, I looked over to Shrike and saw that he was leaning over the railing, looking a little sick.

"Oh, wow... How...how can you remember something so long gone in such...gruesome...detail..." Shrike gasped, looking a fair bit queasy.

"How well do you remember the day that Zelos guy almost killed Zethro?" I asked.

Shrike leaned back again and shook his head out some. "Yeah, I see... Something as impacting as that; it's hard to forget. But, geeze, how can you be unaffected by it?"

"Who said I'm not? After thinking about that night for so many years, I guess I've grown used to the thought of all that gore... All that bloodshed... All the death that happened before my very eyes..." I finally caved in and started to sob, wiping away some tears with the back of my hand. Chuckling as I cried, I shook my head. "You see? I just don't show it as much now as I used to, but the pain is still there constantly, in the back of my heart."

Shrike nodded. "Yeah, after hearing about what happened... It seems hard, if not impossible, for the pain to not linger."

Shrike fell silent, and for a minute there was a somewhat awkward silence before he spoke up again. "I think she, the assassin, really was from the Crimson Dawn..."

"You think so? When we encountered the Crimson Dawn, that was my first thought as well."

"She called Pokémon 'abominations' and used a gold dagger, both of which match the Crimson Dawn. Her cloak was black, yes, but she _was_ an assassin after all and a red one would stand out."

"Then what about the gun and that 'High Order' thing?"

"Well, the High Order could very well be a division of the Crimson Dawn; a sect. The Crimson Dawn seemed highly organized while we were with them, so perhaps this High Order is just another of their internal organizations, which the assassin belonged to."

"And the gun? The Crimson Dawn seemed pretty basic and archaic; a gun doesn't seem suited to them."

"You could say the same for the ship we stole from them. While mostly they seem to be archaic, here and there you seem to be able to find normal or even advanced technology, sometimes just in a different form. As for why use the gun when she already had a dagger..." Shrike paused a second. "Perhaps it's part of their customs, that they can only use their blades on Pokémon and not humans or something. Thus, another weapon was needed to, well, kill your parents or anyone else in the way who wasn't a Pokémon."

I lowered my eyes. "I see."

Shrike sighed and patted my shoulder. "Look, why don't you just continue on with your story now?"

"Yeah, I guess I should..."

* * *

**The Past, Year 2039**

Life was hard after I ran away. Very hard. The first two weeks were the hardest, because I was all on my own then. I knew that I could never be seen or caught by any of the countless people who were looking for me, because I feared that they would make me talk about what happened, and the assassin would somehow find out and come back to kill me for doing as she said not to. Yeah, I wasn't that bright back then, but all I could think about was guaranteeing my own survival. To avoid interaction with other people, I made the decision to stick to alleys at all times and avoid the main roads and places where people gathered, rather there were people there at the time or not. I was always on the move looking for food and shelter, the two most important necessities in the life of a homeless kid like I was. For two weeks I wandered without any long-term purpose, struggling to survive amid the other homeless people that populated Petalburg City.

Strength is a highly valued asset among the homeless, an asset which I lacked. I often ran into two situations; I would either come upon another homeless person feasting on some leftover meal in the garbage, or find something myself only to have it taken away from me when someone far stronger than I found me. It wasn't long before I was malnourished and on the verge of dying. What I discovered I needed to live on the streets, even more than I needed food, was strength. Power. Two weeks after I left home, I found my strength. And along with it, a much endeared friend.

It was night, and I was exploring a part of the city I had never been in before, not even with my parents, on my everlasting quest for sustenance. In the dim light I saw a dumpster in the alley between two tall buildings and cautiously slipped out of the alley I had been walking in, behind the buildings, and into the alley with the dumpster. Glancing around to make sure no one was there to see me if I managed to score a grand prize, I pushed open the lid of the dumpster. Instead of finding food, however, a small black shadow suddenly burst out at me, hitting me in the face and knocking me down. I collapsed onto the ground, the black shadow standing on my chest and making it hard for me to breath or move.

"Dour... Dour..." the thing growled at me. My eyes began to focus again and I realized that the thing was dog-shaped, with bone like objects around his wrists, back, and face. From its appearance and the noise it made, I was able to remember that such a Pokémon was called a Houndour. I had seen few Pokémon but Rattata since I ran away, so my knowledge of Pokémon was starting to slip away.

I weakly smiled at the Houndour, who I guessed truthfully thought I wanted whatever was inside the dumpster. "Hey, little guy... I won't take whatever it is you have, so just let me go and I'll be on my way..."

The Houndour stopped growling and first sniffed me, before looking up at the air and sniffing it a moment, seeming startled. Yelping, the Houndour suddenly leaped off me and jumped on a few boxes before diving into the dumpster again. I began to get up when I heard something coming, something that sounded like claws hitting the cement-covered ground. Dropping back down again, I lay limp with my eyes half-closed. Whatever was coming had scared the Houndour, and I had a feeling I should be scared as well.

The clacking of claws grew closer, and a large shape walked out of the shadows and into my vision. It looked like a bigger, adult version of the Houndour; I was able to remember its name as being Houndoom. I suddenly realized why the Houndour had acted so scared when it sensed the Houndoom coming; this was its territory, and the Houndour was an intruder. Just like I was.

The Houndoom immediately noticed me lying on the ground, growling as it walked over to me. I tried to remain as lifeless as possible as the Houndoom began sniffing me. Lifting its head up it sniffed the air and growled before bending down again and giving me a hard shove with its muzzle. I let my body lifelessly flop over as if I was dead, hoping I could fool the Houndoom. The Houndoom gave one last growl and turned away, walking back down the alley and disappearing into the shadows.

I gave a sigh of relief and quickly stood up. I knew that I should probably run and get away from this part of the city as fast as I could in my hungry, weakened state, but I frowned as I thought of leaving the Houndour there at risk of being found by the Houndoom. I walked over to the dumpster and stood on my toes to look into it, finding that the Houndour had huddled itself up into a ball in the far corner of it, shaking visibly. He obviously greatly feared the Houndoom. "Hey, don't worry, he's gone; it's safe now. Come on; let's get away from here, you and me together." The Houndour looked up from the ball he had curled himself into, and I saw that he had been crying, tears streaking down his face.

"DOOM!" A flurry of black fur suddenly burst into the alley again, charging straight at me. In horror I realized that it was the Houndoom, and that I must not have fooled it after all. It had just wanted to take me by surprise when I was off my guard. Throwing myself out of the path of the charging Houndoom, I collapsed and rolled along the ground just before the Houndoom's snapping, blood-stained jaws closed on where I had been standing. When I stopped rolling I found that my right hand was lying next to a hollow metal pipe with a cap welded onto one end of it. Grabbing the pipe and scrambling to my feet, I held it out in front of me as the Houndoom turned to face me. Behind the Houndoom I saw the Houndour looking out from the top of the dumpster, staring in awe at how I faced the Houndoom instead of run away.

I lunged at the Houndoom who leaped at me at the same time, however I had predicted its attack and was prepared this time. I ducked as the Houndoom flew over me, stabbing the hollow end of the pipe upwards and into the Houndoom's chest, using strength I didn't even know I had. The Houndoom howled and I scrambled out of the way as it sailed past me, rolling head over heels on the ground before coming to a stop on its back. The pipe had stunned it, but it was quickly regaining its senses and I knew I had little time. Going somewhat mad with fear and my instinct to survive—I knew that the Houndoom would kill me if it got up, especially after I attacked it—I ran over to it and began beating it with the pipe. _What am I doing?!_ I remember thinking to myself as I beat the Houndoom like I was a barbarian. It howled in pain at each impact, but I began to realize I simply lacked the raw, physical power to inflict the Houndoom any serious harm. In addition I was quickly tiring, my hits becoming weaker.

A glint out of the corner of my eyes drew my attention, and I noticed a long shard of glass lying on the ground next to a garbage bag with a hole in it, the rest of a broken bottle visible inside the bag. Hoping that the Houndoom didn't get up while my back was turned I dived for the glass shard, carefully picking it up and running back over to the Houndoom who still lay on its back. I placed the shard on its belly, the sharpest end sticking down into its fur. Turning the pipe around, I positioned the end of the pipe with the cap over the shard, which I held up against the Houndoom's chest like a stake. "I will no longer be weak." I growled, before thrusting the pipe down with all the strength I could muster, hitting the shard perfectly. The Houndoom cried out loudly as the shard pierced through its flesh and impaled its chest, blood welling up around the wound. I grabbed the pipe with both hands—the shard could stand on its own now that it was stuck in the Houndoom's chest—and thrust it down again, pounding the shard in even deeper. Again and again I pounded the shard in with the pipe, each time eliciting a howl of pain from the Houndoom and drawing even more blood to the point where it began to spurt up onto me.

At last I had pounded the shard into the Houndoom's chest so that it wasn't even visible anymore, the Houndoom thrashing around on the ground weakly. Dropping the pipe I stepped back, only realizing then what I had done. My eyes were wide as I watched the Houndoom wheeze its last breaths and roll onto its side, which seemed to only bring it more pain. At last the Houndoom's eyes closed, its tongue rolled out of its jaw, and all its limbs fell limp. At last, it was dead. I had managed to kill it, that which was so much more powerful than me. In a daze I turned to look at the dumpster, where the Houndour was still looking out from, its jaw hanging open in disbelief.

"This time I mean it; it's safe to come out now." I weakly grinned at the Houndour, and realized that I hadn't killed the Houndoom just to save myself, but to save him too. My true strength; the bond me and that particular Houndour shared, had finally been found.

That night marked the beginning of a new era for me, and although I did not know what was to come at the time, me and Fury—who I named so because of the fury he had induced in me—had the best meal I had had since leaving my home. Not wanting to waste any viable food source, considering how scarce food was to both of us back then, we feasted on the corpse of the Houndoom I had killed. Fury ate his portion raw, but I roasted my portion on a small fire I was able to make out of some scrap wood and a nearly empty lighter I found in the trash.

* * *

**Present Day, Year 2046**

"Your past... It's pretty gruesome..." Shrike gasped as he bent over the railing of the balcony again.

"Yeah, I guess it is... I never gave it much thought, though. But now, thinking back, I can see just how brutal my early life was."

Shrike stood up straight and shook his head. "My past isn't even half as interesting as yours is. If this were a contest about whose past is better, I think we can safely declare you the winner already."

I laughed and shook my head in response. "No, no. This isn't a contest, and I don't care how boring yours is. I just...want to know."

"I guess I'm the same. I want to know about your past as well. How you came to be at the Petalburg Pokémon Academy, and where that 'Lord Dark' nickname of yours came from." Shrike shrugged and leaned against the rail, looking at me. "So...continue with your story."

* * *

**The Past, Year 20****42**

Well, I won't bore you with the exact details of everything happened in the three years between when I found Fury and moved off the streets and into the Pokémon Academy, if you don't want them. Basically, word of how I killed the Houndoom spread fast among the other homeless kids. Very fast. In just a few nights I had people coming up to me who looked up to me as a sort of leader, and wanted to form a clan of sorts. While hesitant at first, I knew that if I had a clan supporting me, instead of depending on just myself and Fury, survival on the streets would be easier. So I accepted the position as leader of a new street clan, and very quickly my clan grew. While I had no real experience as a leader, I adapted to the role of a clan leader—I had no choice but to—and a wave of change hit the streets of Petalburg. My clan wasn't the first organization of homeless kids in Petalburg, far from it, really; however, compared to the other various clans and gangs that exist in not only Petalburg but every city, mine was far less like a crime syndicate. Instead of using my followers to commit crimes, I organized search and scavenge parties who took turns gathering food and finding viable shelter, which were distributed and used evenly. Even I had no better living conditions or meals than whoever our newest member was at any given time.

I did not want people to know my real name, as I was worried that someone would turn me into the police if they knew who I was, so I adopted the name "Lord of the Dark" by my clan members, who sometimes shortened it to "Lord Dark." The reasoning behind the name is simple, really; I was the only female clan leader in Petalburg at that time—and to my knowledge there has been no other female clan leaders since I left either—and acted more like a boy than a girl anyways, so being referred to as a boy just seemed more appropriate. The dark part is from how I always stayed in shadows and never ventured out into any source of light, be it sunlight or streetlights at night.

As it turned out, I was fortunate in not revealing my true name to anyone. My clan's reputation for equality and fairness drew the attention of other clans, who viewed my methods as weak and my clan a waste of valuable resources that the other clans desired. If they had known who I was, I am confident that they would have informed the police so that I would be taken away from my clan without being able to pass leadership on to someone else. In my leave, it would have been easy for my clan to be usurped by a rival clan who would break it apart.

Three years after I met Fury and founded my clan, my life was again set to undergo a drastic change. I was with a salvage party who were exploring one of the deeper parts of the city which was often riskier to explore due to increased law enforcement, yet offered much greater rewards than the outskirts of the city did. Telling the three other members of my party to stand guard at the entrance to an alley that led out directly onto a main road, Fury and I ventured into the alley, carefully examining every piece of trash for anything of use.

"Hey. You one of those homeless kids I've heard about? What's your name?"

I suddenly spun around at the voice, raising the pipe I was holding (the very same pipe I had killed the Houndoom with. While I didn't normally possess the strength I had wielded it with when Fury's life was threatened, it was somewhat of a status symbol to my clan) threateningly as Fury leapt in front of me, fangs bared. A man had been leaning behind a stack of boxes this whole time, a cigarette held between two fingers of his right hand and his left crossed across his chest.

"Hey, cool it. I'm not threatening you. See?" The man dropped the cigarette and held up his hands in a gesture of peace. I lowered my pipe some, but kept my muscles tense.

"My name is none of your concern. You may call me the Lord of the Dark, though."

"_Lord_ of the Dark, eh? Weird nickname for a young _girl_. What's your little friend called?"

"Fury."

I glanced behind me at the three other clan members, who couldn't see the man yet were able to see that I was confronting something. I shook my head to indicate that they should hold their position.

"Well, I guess I ought to tell you my name as well, huh? My name's Noah, from Dewford Island. Pleased to meat you, LD—you don't mind if I call you LD, do you?—and Fury." Noah nodded at the two of us in turn, before holding out his hand. I blinked as I realized he wanted to shake hands with me and cautiously took his hand and shook it.

* * *

**Present Day, Year 2046**

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Noah, as in the gym leader here?! The same Noah we met at the café, the one which you seemed to want to avoid?!" Shrike suddenly interrupted.

"Yes, that same Noah..."

"You mean he's the one who got you off the streets?! How?!"

"I was just getting to that..."

"Oh, yeah, right... Go on, I won't interrupt again."

* * *

**The Past, Year 2042**

"So, LD, how long have you been living on the streets?" Noah had casually sat down on a cardboard box, although I remained standing and ready to run if need be.

"Not sure. I don't really keep track of time; there are far more important things to worry about."

"I see. And when did you meet Fury?"

"Not long after I...left home."

"Left home? I don't suppose you'll tell me why?"

"No, I won't."

"Ah. I didn't expect you to."

There was a moment of silence between us, which I was completely unwilling to break. Silence was perfectly fine by my standards. Finally Noah did, however. "I suppose you want to know what I'm doing asking you these questions, huh?

"That would be nice to know."

"Well, you see, I'm the son of the Dewford Island gym leader—you know what a gym leader is, right?" I nodded. "Good. See, my family is very well off because of my father's position, which I will likely take over someday soon. Sometimes this can get to my head, so once in a while I like to hang around those in extreme poverty. Once in a while I like to hang around those who have nothing at all, even. And sometimes... Sometimes I can change a person's life, if you get what I mean."

My heart skipped a beat. "You mean, you could give me money or something? Is that it?"

"Sometimes it's money. Sometimes it's more specific items, like food. However, before I can give you anything, there's something I would like of you... I guess you could call this a trade."

"What? I don't really have anything to give... Isn't that why you want to help me?"

"I want a Pokémon battle. You can use Fury, and I'll use one of my Pokémon." Noah suddenly pulled back his jacket, revealing a belt full of Pokéballs which had been hidden beneath it. "You can pick one at random, to ensure I don't purposefully put you at a disadvantage."

"A battle? But I've never had a battle before..." I replied hesitantly.

"Oh, come on. I see something in you; a fighting spirit. You've fought in fights before, haven't you?"

"Several."

"A battle isn't much different; you're just not the one fighting. All you have to do is tell Fury what you want him to do."

"Well...all right. I'll do it." I gulped and nodded. I didn't know why I was so nervous about having my first Pokémon battle; I had seen and done far worse, yet somehow I knew that with this battle everything would change. At the time, I didn't know whether that change would be for better or for worse.

"Good. This alley seems big enough, so we can do it here. You stand over there, then, and I'll stand over here." Noah pointed to spots on the ground a good distance apart, and I walked over to my spot with Fury. Fury took up a position between me and Noah, spreading his legs apart and lowering himself close to the ground, taking up a battle stance.

One of the members of my party walked up behind me and tapped me in my shoulder, whispering in my ear, "Lord Dark, Callum has advised that we retreat back to our base now. Dawn is near."

"Tell him that you three may return if you want, however I will remain here and return on my own when done." I whispered back.

"Yes, Lord Dark. I wish you luck in this...battle."

"And I wish you luck in having a safe journey home."

We nodded to each other and I watched the boy return to the other two and report to them what I had said. They all looked at me and nodded before walking back down the alley in the direction we had come from, carrying the bags of spoils we had found.

"Are you ready to start?" Noah called over to me from where he stood.

"Yes, I am."

"Then choose one of my Pokéballs, and let's begin this battle!"

I pointed to the second Pokéball from his right, and he removed it from his belt, throwing it into the air. For the first time since the night three years prior when my parents were killed I watched as a Pokémon rematerialized out of a Pokéball; in this case, a rather squat and fat Pokémon with a yellow body and hands that looked like boxing gloves; a Makuhita.

"You chose well, as Makuhita one of my less powerful Pokémon; however, watch out that you don't tale too many hits, you're at the type disadvantage here. Nothing much could be done about that, though, as I don't have any non-fighting type Pokémon on me at the moment. I'll try to go easy on you." Noah smirked as he said the last sentence, which got my blood boiling a little.

"You don't have to; I can defeat you anyways no matter what advantages or disadvantages I have!" I smirked back at Noah, confidence filling me.

"Now that's what I'm talking about! You have the attitude, now can you deliver? Let's go!"

And with that, the battle was on; the battle that would change my life and the entire course of my destiny. Little did I know at the time, but I would never return to my clan again...

**To be Continued...**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**Aira; the Past, Year 2042**

"Makuhita, charge in with an Arm Thrust!"

"Fury, evade its attacks!"

In the shadows just prior to dawn, the battle between me and Noah of Dewford Island began. It was my first Pokémon battle ever, but I was determined not to lose. Meeting Noah had sparked something in me, something which I hadn't felt for three years.

"Maku...hita!" Noah's Makuhita started off by charging at Fury, pulling its right arm backwards and quickly jabbing it forward as it pulled its left arm back, repeating that pattern of punches.

"Dour, dour, dour!" Fury shouted as it leapt backwards in time with the punches, managing to evade every one of them.

"Makuhita, now!" Noah suddenly yelled.

A glint of pride shined in Makuhita's eyes as it suddenly broke its pattern, following a punch with its left arm with another jab from the same arm that my eye could barely follow. Fury shrieked as it was hit and flew backwards, tumbling head over heels, dazed from the solid punch that had been empowered further due to Fury's weakness to fighting.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" Noah taunted.

"You're right, we can. Fury, circle Makuhita until its guard is down and then Bite it!"

Fury jumped back to his feet and shook his head a few times before sitting off into a run, jumping onto and over the various pieces of garbage that littered the alley as he circled around Makuhita.

"Makuhita, don't let your guard down. We cannot allow a single attack to hit," Noah said, narrowing his eyes.

Makuhita spread its feet wide and raised its hands defensively, following Fury with its eyes and without turning its head. There was no way Fury could get in an attack on Makuhita's front, but Noah was surely expecting him to attack from the back. While I thought this over Fury suddenly decided to take action, and while Makuhita's back was turned to him, he changed his direction and ran directly towards Makuhita, his fangs bared.

"Fury, jump to the side and continue with the Bite attack!" I yelled quickly

"Makuhita, Seismic Toss!" Noah yelled at the same time as me, just as I had been expecting.

Makuhita lunged forward in an attempt to grab Fury, however its bulk make it far slower than the dog Pokémon and by the time its arms closed on where Fury would have been, he had already jumped to the side and successfully evaded the attack. Makuhita's guard down, Fury jumped at it and dug its fangs into Makuhita's side. Blood began to leak from around its fangs as Makuhita's eyes shot wide open. Even thought Fury was at a type disadvantage, the sheer physical pain induced was more than Makuhita could handle.

Noah's eyes also shot wide open, however, when Fury didn't let go of Makuhita, the blood leaking around Fury's jaws increasing in volume. "Hey, this isn't a death match or anything! If Fury doesn't let off its attack, it could be fatal!"

Understanding what was going on I hurriedly rushed over to Fury. "Fury, stop! Let go of Makuhita! We don't want to kill it!" I yelled as I ran. Whenever he had bit something in the past, it had been to kill. He didn't understand that this time, that wasn't the case.

As I reached them, Fury let go and I picked him up, holding him in my arms. "You don't do that in a battle! In a battle, you just give a small, short bite then let go! Never do that again unless I specifically tell you to kill!" I scolded Fury. He whined since he had made me angry, but nodded to indicate he understood.

Noah walked over to his Makuhita and bent down to its side, looking at the wound Fury had caused. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know Fury would do that, he's not used to Pokémon battles... Will your Makuhita be okay?" I asked.

"He'll be fine," Noah said, pulling a small, bluish bottle out of his back pocket. Peeling a small tab off the bottle's nozzle, he pointed it at the wound and squeezed it a few times, a mist of liquid spraying onto the wound. "This is a special healing potion for Pokémon that will help alleviate the pain and speed up the body's natural healing processes. It'll help for now, and I'll keep him in his Pokéball until I can get him to a Pokémon Center." Pulling Makuhita's Pokéball off his belt, he recalled the injured Pokémon into it, replacing it on his belt again.

"I guess this means our battle's over..." I sighed.

"Yeah, it is; but I've seen enough. You can actually think in the middle of a battle, instead of just acting impulsively. You knew I was waiting for Fury to attack Makuhita's back, and gave the command to evade the attack at the same moment I gave the actual attack command itself. If I hadn't been so fast in giving the attack, you probably would have given your evasion command first. Isn't that right, Aira Andrews?"

My eyes shot wide and I grabbed the pipe I had set on the ground earlier, running at Noah and swinging it at him. He was too fast, though, and grabbed the pipe with a single hand before it could hit him. "How do you know?!" I growled.

"You obviously can't remember, but I've seen you before. Yours and my family have been friends for years, and I visited your former house once a few years ago. You've changed since then, yes, but when you fight, I see your parents in you. Please, listen to what I have to say before you attack me again."

I hesitated before pulling the pipe back, holding it at my side as Fury stood on my other side, not wanting to take any more action at the moment without my express command, lest he get scolded again. "I...think I remember... I've pushed the memories of my past life out of my mind since the incident, but now I think I remember you, faintly... You played with me, and gave me some stuffed Pokémon toys... You said that one day, I'd be my parents' legacy..."

"Yes. And that day has come. Ever since your parents' death, I've been looking for you. It's been hard, you sure know how to not leave much of a trail, but recently I've finally caught up with you. I was hoping to bring you to my home and let you live there until you grew old enough, but now you're old enough that I guess we can just skip that step. Instead, I want to enroll you at the Petalburg Pokémon Academy. It was actually in your parents' will that my family was to care for you until you were old enough to enroll at the Petalburg Pokémon Academy if anything were to happen to them, but I would have done so anyways without them asking."

"You mean, you want me to go to school?"

"It's not just any school; it's a Pokémon Trainer school. Yes, you'll have to take classes for general subjects as well, but primarily the classes at the Pokémon Academy are meant to give young people like you the learning necessary to become a better than average Trainer. I can get you in for free and make special arrangements to allow you to keep Fury with you—normally it's not possible for students to keep Pokémon with them at the school. Of course, there are dorms there that you can live in, and I can give you some money."

"But, I have a clan... There are people who look up to me..."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of them. I'll tell them the truth, sans who you really are, and offer to take them to orphanages."

I bent down and petted Fury, looking him in the eyes. "You deserve better than these alleys..." I said quietly.

"So do you. This is no place for a girl your age, and from a family like yours to grow up. Why you decided to run away after yours parents' murder, I have no idea." Noah shook his head. "You still won't tell me, will you?"

"No, I won't... I'm starting to see that it was silly for me to run away for so long, but I'd still rather not discuss it. Is it possible to change your name?" I asked, thinking of something.

"Well, yeah. But why?

"I want to change my last name. If people know who I am, I'll probably be mobbed by former fans of my parents and the media asking about where I've been. I don't want that connection to my past life."

"I see. Do you have any ideas?"

"No, not really..."

"Well, what about kaze? It's Japanese for wind, which seems to apply to you and how you were blown out of your house, onto the streets, and now towards your new future. And who knows where you'll go from here out."

"Close... What about Kaza? Almost the same, but sounds better to me."

"Whatever you want." Noah shrugged.

"Then I'll go with Kaza. From here on out, I'm Aira Kaza." I smiled as I looked up at Noah.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Come on, I'll take you to my hotel room so you can get washed up—you badly need it—and then we can get you some new clothes as well—again, they're badly needed."

"I don't think I've taken a shower since three years ago, and all of my clothes have been found in the trash since then..." I mumbled, embarrassed.

"I can tell, trust me." Noah laughed. "Here, take this." Reaching into a back pocket of his jeans he pulled out a small red and white Pokéball, which he tossed to me. I expanded it and looked it over.

"What am I supposed to do with it?" I asked.

"Tap it against Fury to capture him. Don't worry; he won't be hurt or anything. You'll need to do this sometime, though, and now's as good a time as any. Consider it your first step on your Pokémon Training journey."

Fury looked up at the Pokéball in my hand and seemed to understand, nodding to indicate that he was okay with the idea. Gently I tapped the Pokéball against his back, the ball splitting open upon the impact and turning Fury into a mass of red light which was drawn inside the ball and which closed around it. The button on the front of it flashed a few times, but then it was over.

As I held the Pokéball I dropped the pipe I was still holding, it clattering to the ground by my side. Noah rested a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me, before guiding me on my first steps out of the alley in three years. Overhead the sun shone bright, the dawn having turned to bright daylight, as if to herald the beginning of the new life that awaited me.

* * *

**Shrike; ****Present Day, Year 2046**

"And that was pretty much it. You've been there, so I doubt you need to hear me describe my experiences at the Pokémon Academy." Aira shrugged. I nodded from the chair I had finally decided to sit down in.

"Yeah, there's no need to hear about all that over again. As I've said, your past was much more interesting than mine. For one, yours had action and violence. I instead had a hateful father and a not so caring mom." I glared as I thought of my dad. Really, he could go to hell for all I cared.

"At least you had parents..." Aira said quietly, sitting down in the other chair next to mine.

"Well, yeah... Anyways, that whole bit with Noah was interesting. You know I'll make you talk to him one way or another sometime before we leave this island, right?" I grinned as I looked over at Aira.

"Just, give me some time to prepare. I haven't seen him since my first days at the Pokémon Academy..."

"Anyway, I suppose I should start telling my story now, right? It's getting kind of late, and I want to get to bed soon."

"Sure, go ahead. I need to rest my throat now; I'm not used to talking so long..."

"Well, I'm going to try to make this quick. I don't have as much to tell about my life anyways..."

* * *

**T****he Past, Year 2042**

"Oy, Shrike, what's the hold up? It's Andy's turn to fight you now, remember?"

I blinked a few times before looking at the people that stood in a circle around me. "Oh, right. Sorry, I was just thinking of my father and how I'm jealous of you all. Let's begin."

It was a bright day, and me along with five of my friends stood in the middle of a park; a thin wall of trees encircling us, separating us from the rest of the park. Each of the six of us was holding a long, straight stick which had had its bark stripped off. Regaining my focus, I spread my legs apart, my left side facing a boy who had stepped forward and taken up a position across from me. Raising my stick up, I held it at my right hip with both hands, the stick crossing my chest. The other boy tried to copy my pose, but held his stick noticeably looser and with less confidence.

"Ready...begin!" One of the other boys yelled.

Setting off in a charge I ran at my opponent, Andy, as I swung my stick over my head and brought it down in a diagonal slicing motion against Andy, who quickly moved to block my attack. Our sticks clacked as they collided, but immediately I stepped to my right, Andy fumbling forward. Quickly I drew my arms back and thrust the stick forward and into the side of Andy's chest, knocking the air out of him as he fell down.

"You done?" I asked mockingly.

"Not just yet..." Andy mumbled as he dragged himself back up, charging at me and swinging his mock sword down in a vertical stroke. I quickly moved my left hand along the "blade" of my stick and held the end of it in the notch between my left thumb and index finger. Andy's mock sword collided with mine, me bending my head back to keep from being hit. With all my strength I pushed forward, managing to push him back and again unbalance Andy. Taking a step to my left I swung my mock sword in an upwards stroke against Andy's right wrist, causing him to release his stick and drop it. Kicking it out of the way, I jabbed mine into the middle of his chest.

"Okay, I'm done now..." He sighed.

"Good effort." I smiled, holding my mock sword with my left hand and shaking Andy's hand with my right. As I walked back to the circle of my friends, Andy bend down and picked up his mock sword, rejoining the circle as well as two more of my friends stepped forward.

That was a sort of game me and my friends would always play almost religiously back then; we'd take those sticks and act out swordfights with them. It was just for fun and to live out the fantasy some of us had of being an actual swordsman in a medieval setting, fighting for justice alongside our valiant Pokémon, though; none of us expected we'd ever get to fight with real swords. It was unanimous among our group that I was the best, perhaps even naturally talented to some extent.

The sun began to set and the last fight for the day was played out. Afterwards, as we talked about this and that, I went around and collected everyone's sticks. Once I had them all I stuck them in an empty backpack which I slung over my shoulders. Grabbing onto the bottom branches of one of the bigger trees, I quickly climbed up to its top layers and swung my legs over a branch. As I balanced myself high above the ground, I pulled the backpack off and stuffed it into a natural hollow in the tree trunk, the ends of the sticks poking out.

Hearing someone else climbing up, I looked down and found that Andy was making his way up the tree as well. I scooted down the branch further and let him took a seat where I had been sitting.

"You may be jealous of our dads, but I'm jealous of your sword fighting abilities." Andy shook his head as he looked out over the clearing, waving goodbye to everyone as they left.

"I would give it all up if only to have a dad who would let me like what I want to like..." I mumbled.

"I'm leaving tomorrow, and I was hoping that I'd be able to beat you at least one time before I left... But, I guess rather I win or lose at a pretend swordfight won't really affect my future." Andy shrugged, but I could tell he was disappointed.

"Leaving? Oh, that's right, you're starting your Pokémon journey tomorrow... I would have gone easy on you if I had remembered, but I was too distracted with thinking about my dad that I forgot..."

"No, no; I wouldn't have wanted you to go easy on me anyways. That would have just been unfair."

"So, have you decided what you're choosing as a starter?"

"Not yet. I was thinking about a Mudkip, but I haven't decided for final yet."

"Heh, so you like Mudkips, eh? Well, whatever your choice, have fun. I wish I could join you..."

"So your father won't let you leave home, even though you want to?"

"Hah, he won't even let me _like_ Pokémon, there's no way he'll willingly let me go on a Pokémon journey. He wants me to be a lawyer, just like him, of course." I shook my head, staring out over the trees and at the setting sun.

"Man, I'm sorry for you... One day I'm sure things will change..."

"Well, I hope that day comes soon..."

Andy paused for a moment before continuing. "Listen, I want you to have some of my stuff that I won't be needing anymore. I've already got it all boxed up, so you can just take it all home with you now." Andy pointed to a cardboard box that sat next to a tree along with his jacket.

"Stuff such as...?"

"Videos of Pokémon battles, Pokémon action figures, a few stuffed Pokémon toys, some of my Pokémon card collection..."

"Ah. I see. You know my dad doesn't let me have that stuff, right?"

"Yeah, that's why I want you to have it, and why I put it in a nondescript box; so he doesn't know what it is. Just make sure he doesn't look inside it. I mean, he doesn't search your room or anything, does he?"

"No, he doesn't. I should be able to sneak it into my room, I guess."

"Well, I suppose I should be going now. Hopefully I'll see you again sometime in life, but until then, see ya." Andy dropped down off the branch and began making his way downwards.

"Hey, thanks!" I called down after him. He smiled up at me, before grabbing his jacket and running off.

I sat on the branch and stared at the box he had left for a few moments, before letting myself down and picking up my own jacket and the box—which was surprisingly heavy—and walking off in the direction of home.

* * *

**T****he Past, Year 2044**

Before that day, while I was interested in Pokémon if only because my dad didn't allow me to be interested in them and because all my friends were preparing to leave on their own Pokémon journeys, I wasn't really that interested in them. But after I got that box of stuff from Andy, my life changed. As I watched videos of Pokémon battles and looked over the various action figures and cards he had given me, I slowly became fascinated with the creatures, and especially with battling. Within six months of Andy's departure, the rest of my group of friends had also left, and so I ended up spending most of my days locked inside my room, watching and rewatching the videos of Pokémon battles. Eventually I ended up looking online for more videos of battles, my searches leading me to forums and archives devoted to them.

Of course, such obsession could not go unnoticed forever. I'm still not clear on how my father found out, but eventually he caught on to my obsession. I managed to hide all of Andy's stuff before he found it, however I soon found that I was blocked from accessing pretty much all websites about Pokémon. A year passed without a single mention of the subject verbally passing between us, but the calm before the storm could not last forever.

When the storm did finally hit, it hit hard. Seeing as how I continued to find ways to watch Pokémon battles and otherwise express my interest in Pokémon despite my father's attempts to thwart me, he finally snapped and confronted me about it, thus marking the beginning of a series of arguments between us that lasted for about one month. While my dad and I fought it out on the frontlines, my mom was huddled in the back, wishing that we'd stop without ever actually taking any action towards trying to stop us.

"Father, why will you not ever listen to me?! Just answer me this question once, why are Pokémon themselves so bad? Why can I not even be interested in the creatures themselves, if not for battling?!" I shouted at my father as we stood in the middle of the living room of our house.

"Pokémon are just animals, barbaric animals at that. No son of mine will be involved in such brutality as Pokémon battles!" he shouted back.

"But that wasn't the question! I've asked you this over and over and over again, yet you always avoid answering it! If Pokémon are just animals, why can't I be interested in them like I am cats or dogs! Hell, we have a pet cat for crying out loud! How is having a pet, say, Skitty any different?!"

"Stop it... Please, just...stop it..." my mother moaned, sitting in one of the living room chairs with her head in her hands.

"Don't you even _dare_ suggest that we get a Pokémon as a pet!" Dad yelled, enraged. There was just no reasoning with him...

"Look, see? You did it again! You didn't answer the damn question! This is like arguing with a rock!" I yelled, exasperated.

"That's it! Go to your room, now! I will be in there shortly to remove your computer! You will not get away with calling me a rock, you Pokémon loving bastard!"

"Make me! I'm not going to listen to anything you say anymore, you can't control me!"

"STOP IT!" Mom suddenly screamed, jumping up out of her chair and running out the front door without even putting her shoes on, the door slamming shut behind her. I stared at the door, stunned. That was the last time I've ever seen my mom, but in a weird twist of fate, it was also the last argument father and I had. That's not to say we suddenly made up, just that we stopped fighting.

After that argument I willingly went to bed, although before I did I locked my door with four separate sets of locks I had been installing since the arguments began. They could only be unlocked from the inside, so unless father was planning on breaking down my door, I knew I didn't have to fear him coming in my room in the middle of the night to take away my computer or anything.

One week later and my life had more or less returned to a calm state. I resumed my normal everyday activities, with the exception that I now avoided dad at all times. I didn't even eat together with him, instead preparing my own meals.

I was bringing in the mail a week from the day mother had run off when I found a letter addressed to father amidst the rest that read, on the envelope: "Important papers regarding your divorce inside. Respond immediately." My eyes widened as I saw it and I rushed inside, sitting down in a chair in the living room and ripping the envelope open. Inside I found papers outlining the terms of a divorce between my parents, such as how money would be divided between them and the fact that father was being given full ownership of all their property. That seemed to include me, as well.

Dropping the rest of the mail on an end table, I rushed upstairs and barged into my dad's office, letter in hand. "What the fuck is this about?! Why did you not tell me?!" I yelled, throwing the letter at father's face, who sat behind his desk reading a newspaper. Glancing at the letter to see what it was, father smirked at me as he set down the newspaper.

"That bitch can't stand it anymore and wants to get away from everything, even you. There was no need for a court ruling even, I was automatically granted possession; she requested it. I didn't tell you as I didn't want you to go into a crying tantrum over it; your insistence that Pokémon Training is noble and adventurous is far more shit than I like to hear anyways. Oh, don't worry, you're not staying here. It's quite obvious to me that you're a failure in every sense of the word, so I'm sending you away to the 'noble and adventurous' life you've always wanted since it will get you out of my hair finally and let me live my life in peace. This Monday you will be moving to The Rustboro Pokémon Academy, where you will continue your studies until you are sixteen and graduate. Then you will leave Rustboro City, which will forever be tainted by your failure at being anything remotely successful, to have the 'grand adventure' you have been babbling on about. No thank yous are needed; I'm the one who's glad you will finally be out of my life. Forever."

When I heard father say that, I felt like jumping around in joy. I hadn't thought he would ever give in, but apparently I had finally gotten to him. Andy had been right after all, things certainly were changing.

After giving my dad a glare, I ran out of his office and into my room, gathering together everything I would need in my new life. I knew I couldn't bring all of Andy's stuff with me, so I hid what I didn't bring under a loose floorboard, where I had been keeping all of that stuff for the past month to keep my father from finding it all.

The next Monday dad drove me to the Rustboro Pokémon Academy campus, his car packed full with what I had deemed needed for life in my dorm room. As we turned into a parking lot, I looked up at the black, cylindrical building that stood at the center of campus, surrounded by two twin semi-circular buildings. My new life was just beginning.

_Yes, I've finally won... This is where I'm meant to be...  
_

* * *

**Shrike; Present Day, Year 2046**

"And that's pretty much it for me. See? I told you there wasn't as much to tell as yours, nor was it as exciting."

"Oh, come on. I thought the part with the pretend swordfight was pretty cool, and your dad telling you about the divorce was kind of scary, to be honest."

"Yeah, that quote has stuck with me... It exemplifies all the bad qualities of my father..." I stood up and stretched my arms out while yawning. "So, you sure you don't want to hear such exciting tales of my school life as how I fell asleep in math class every day for both years, and how I was consistently partnered with Rayne on projects in General Pokémon Studies, yet she never contributed anything and left me to do all the work?"

Aira laughed. "No, no; I have similar stories, so I don't need to hear yours. Speaking of Rayne, though, where is she?"

"Has she still not come back?" I questioned, glancing inside our room and seeing that her bed was still empty. "It's got to be around midnight by now..."

"I'm sure she's okay and will be back by morning. You can never know with her, so don't even try to think of what she may be doing." Aira shrugged, standing up. Together we walked into the room and changed into our sleeping clothes before climbing into our beds.

"Shrike?"

"Yes, Aira?"

"Thanks for telling me about your past. I sometimes get bummed out when I think of what I missed. That's why I especially liked the swordfight part, since it seemed so...normal."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call a bunch of nerds pretending to be sword-wielding warriors normal, but you're welcome. I'm glad you told me yours as well, since I can better understand you now. And, of course, I'm sorry for what happened..."

"Don't be. The only one who needs apologize is that assassin."

"Yeah, you're right..."

Our last words for the night fading away, I turned onto my side and closed my eyes, drifting away into blissful sleep and long lost dreams of fighting with a glowing sword against an of evil person with red hair, Zethro fighting alongside me.

**End of Chapter 22**


	23. Chapter 23

_Author's Note: To alleviate possible confusion, the first scene in this chapter is entirely in third person. I will probably have further scenes like this in the fic, as I quite like how this one turned out. It just wouldn't have had the same feeling if it was in first._

* * *

**Chapter 23**

"Ab...sol! Sol, sol, sol!"

A single light far overhead, mounted to one of the buildings that enclosed the alley, illuminated the scene below. The alley was a dead end, but about half way down it stood a girl wearing a black coat, a hood pulled over her face. In front of her, facing towards the closed end of the alley, was a Pokémon with white fur—a contrast to the girl's choice of clothing—and black claws. Its face was black as well, with a sickle-like blade extending from its right temple and sweeping backwards. Four arc-shaped blades made of nothing but air shot from where the Pokémon stood and flew towards the end of the alley, where they neatly sliced through four bags of garbage that had neatly been piled on top of each other, the bags splitting open and spilling their contents over the ground.

"Matariel, the drainpipe. Cut it into one long section, then as many smaller sections as you can while it falls," the girl ordered.

"As you command," the Absol, Matariel, said; although most people would be unable to understand her voice as anything other than growls.

Matariel spread her feet apart as wind begin to whip around the blade on her head in a vortex. Quickly, and with unmatched precision, Matariel tossed her head twice, each time sending out an arc of wind from the vortex around her head blade. The two arcs flew towards the drainpipe the girl had indicated, one towards the bottom of it, and the other towards the top. By the time the two wind blades had reached the drainpipe, Matariel had pulled her head back in preparation of firing off more of the blades. The drainpipe was easily sliced through by the twin blades, the pipe beginning its fall downwards as Matariel tossed her head and sent another wind blade flying, calculating where she needed to aim it in a split second.

This new wind blade flew towards the falling drainpipe and neatly cut through its middle, splitting it into two separate falling pieces of pipe. Faster than humanly imaginable, Matariel continued sending off blade after blade, cutting each section of the drainpipe in half, and then cutting each half in half again. By the time the fragments of the drainpipe finally fell to the ground, the drainpipe had been cut into eight separate pieces.

"Do you think it's possible to bring the count up to sixteen?" the girl asked.

"No. I doubt anyone short of a god could attain the speed needed," Matariel replied.

"Perhaps that is true. You may rest for now. It is my turn to train."

"Your turn? You can't mean..."

Matariel watched as the girl raised her right hand in front of her, her palm down, and closed her eyes. A sphere of dark energy began to form under her palm, sparks crackling around it and illuminating the air around the girl's hand with a dark glow.

_This is different__, and not just the energy's elemental alignment__... She's be__en able to improve so quickly... But she's__ still__ not able to form an Arcanum Sigil, and without it her control will always be limited...__ But then again, he didn't need one either..._ Matariel thought.

"Hmph. Still weak and uncontrolled, I see," a new voice said from behind the girl.

The girl glanced behind her and turned around, holding the hand with the ball of dark energy still underneath it at her side. As she turned, she came face to face with a tall man who stood behind her, his arms crossed across his chest. He wore a tight-fitting outfit that was silver in color, with black lines creating accents along the sides of both the shirt and pants, and along the shirt's collar. His silver hair flowed straight down his back except for two separate, fang-like bangs on either side of his head. The only part of his appearance that wasn't silver was the long, curved scabbard decorated in gold and crimson red that was attached to the left side of his silver belt.

"Xylus," the girl said, recognizing him.

"Rayne." Xylus knew her as well.

"Did you come here to finish what your master couldn't do?" Rayne snarled.

"No, I came to observe you. I see that your ability at controlling your inner power is still weak, however."

"I've been improving, ever since I was at your little base of operations." Rayne glared at Xylus.

"Yes, of course. It would be hard not to improve after being in the presence of so much Arcana Energy focused around one area. However, it must not have been enough if that's all you can manage."

"Let me guess, you're also here to try to get me to join your little cult again, aren't you?

Xylus snickered. "A cult? Oh, I belong to so much more than a cult, so much more. Come with me, and you can see for yourself. Come with me, and you will regain all the power that you once had and more. You will be more powerful than you could ever imagine."

"Oh please, give me a break; that's got to be one of the worst clichés ever. Besides, I'm plenty powerful enough as it is!" Rayne suddenly raised her right arm and extended her middle and index finger while splaying her ring finger and pinky to the side and sticking her thumb upwards. The ball of dark energy she had been forming moved to the tip of her middle and index fingers, which were pointed directly at Xylus. "Dark...shot!" Rayne yelled as the sphere of energy tripled in size before flying off in Xylus's direction, leaving a trail of black sparks behind it.

Xylus smirked for a split second as he watched the ball of energy approach him, not even moving to try to dodge the attack. At the last moment, just as the sphere reached where he was standing, his whole body flickered and disappeared, the sphere of energy passing through thin air where he had been standing.

_Where'd he go?!_ Rayne angrily thought as she began forming another sphere of dark energy at the tip of her fingers.

"I have to admit that is rather impressive for someone as weak as you; however I cannot let such insolence go unpunished."

Rayne spun around again and found that Xylus had reappeared at the end of the alley, his right hand on the hilt of his sword. Before Rayne could respond, he began running towards her, smirking as the light from overhead glinted off the gold patterns on his katana's scabbard.

Rayne grimaced and quickly fired off a second shot of the dark energy; however just as before, Xylus flickered and disappeared. Reappearing again in the same spot just after the energy passed straight through where he had been standing, he didn't break stride as he continued charging forward. Rayne knew there wasn't enough time to charge up another shot, and was too stunned to move.

"Rayne!" Matariel yelled from where she stood along the side of alley, having been silently observing the passage between Xylus and Rayne. As Xylus closed in on where Rayne stood defenseless, Matariel suddenly ran into his path, baring her fangs. "You will take my life before hers!"

"Matariel, no!" Rayne seemed to come alive again and ran forward, pushing Matariel to the side and again placing herself in Xylus's path.

There was no time for anymore to be said or done as Xylus was now just yards away from Rayne. In one smooth motion he drew his katana from its scabbard and swung it in a horizontal slice in front of him, the tip of it approaching Rayne's neck too fast for any action to be taken. Rayne closed her eyes as Matariel looked up at her from where she lay on the ground to Rayne's side, her eyes wide.

"Hmph. I see. How noble of you."

Rayne slowly opened her eyes and, without moving her head, looked down at the gold blade that had stopped just millimeters from her neck. Turning her eyes away from the blade, she looked up at Xylus, who had stopped his attack at the very last moment possible.

"If it had been anyone other than Matariel, I would not have done that. I would not give my life for anyone else," Rayne said slowly.

Xylus chuckled. "We will see... We will see..." Drawing the blade away from Rayne's neck he sheathed it again, turning around and walking a few steps down the alley towards the dead end.

Without hesitating, Rayne suddenly jumped to her feet, reaching into a back pocket of her jeans and pulling out a small switchblade. She pressed a button on the handle of it, the blade shooting out from the end of the handle. Xylus's defense down, Rayne lunged towards him and stabbed the switchblade at his back with as much force behind the thrust as she could muster. However, before the blade could stab him, he again flickered and disappeared, teleporting away again as he had done twice before.

"You bastard! Fight like a real man, won't you?!" Rayne yelled angrily.

"Attacking someone's unprotected back while they are turned away isn't exactly fair either, is it?"

Rayne craned her neck upwards and found that Xylus was now standing on the fire escape of one of the buildings around the alley, far out of her reach with the knife, and she knew that if she attacked with her dark shot he'd just teleport away again. "Okay, what about the first time you did that teleporting thing, then?"

Xylus shook his head and smiled. "From now on, I will not teleport away from any fair attack. But at the same time, I will no longer hold back in my attacks or spare your lives. How about that?"

"Fine, but I hope you don't intend to try to kill me every night from here on out."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that if I were you. I have other business to attend to now that I have finished my assignment on this island."

"Just what was your assignment here?" Rayne asked.

"You're very tenacious, you know that? Not many people would spring a surprise attack behind my back like you did," Xylus said, ignoring Rayne's question. "Keep in mind that my offer's always open, if you change your mind." Xylus turned around before pausing. "Oh, yeah; I thought I'd inform you that one particular gang on this island seems to be looking for you and your companions. They call themselves the Night Ravens. You might want to avoid them...or you might want to find them and see why they're looking for you. Your call."

Surprised at Xylus actually giving her advice, Rayne opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything Xylus gave one final smirk before disappearing again. Rayne looked around the alley to see if he had reappeared elsewhere in it, but he was nowhere to be found.

_Xylus... Why are you so interested in me? Are you really following orders, or do you have your own personal agenda...?  
_

* * *

**Shrike**

"Both of you wake up. Now."

Groaning, I slowly opened my eyes a crack, not wanting to let in any more of the harsh light of the room's ceiling lamp. "What time is it...?"

"About one in the morning, but that doesn't matter; we have to talk."

"We only got to sleep about an hour ago..." I moaned, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. "Where have you been?" I asked as I looked up at Rayne, my eyes squinted both because they still weren't adjusted to the light, and because everything was out of focus without my glasses.

Rayne stood in front of the door, which she had closed and locked behind her, her arms folded across her chest. "Training. We work best at night."

"Why am I not surprised...?" I mumbled.

"If you were just training, why do you need to talk to us?" Aira, who seemed to be able to wake faster than I, asked.

"Because something happened that interrupted us. If it hadn't been for that, I likely wouldn't have come back for another couple of hours."

"And that thing was...?" My patience was limited when I had so little sleep.

"Xylus. He came, we fought, he nearly killed me, I nearly killed him, and he left after quite shockingly giving me advice."

"Now see, that's how I like to hear things when I'm so tired. That's not _what_ I like to hear, however. Would you mind explaining, perhaps, _why_ he attacked you?" I snidely asked. Aira gave me a look of disapproval and I shrugged. "I'm not an early morning person."

"He again asked me to join him, as cliché as that is, but I doubt that was the only reason he came here. As for attacking me, I have a good feeling he was measuring my strength."

"You must be strong if you fought him off," Aira said.

"No, he was going easy on you, wasn't he?" I asked.

"You think I'm too weak to beat him?" Rayne growled.

"I saw what he can do. Unless you have some secret you've been hiding from us, I don't think you'd currently stand a chance against him in a fair fight."

"Well, I do in fact have a secret I've been hiding from even Matariel until tonight. I've managed to gain some control over how I channel Arcana Energy, and so can use a new technique I'm calling 'Dark Shot' since, well, that's what it is. But, you are right nonetheless. He nearly killed me, but he held back."

"So now he knows you can use this 'Dark Shot' thing, right? Well, unless you have any other secrets, there's no way you can stand against him if he ever decides to actually kill you now that he knows what you can do and how to avoid it."

Rayne smirked. "He avoided it by some kind of teleportation, however he swore to me he'll never teleport out of the way of a fair attack again in a fight."

"It doesn't matter; he's insanely fast even without teleporting, plus he now knows what to look for to warn him that you're preparing to use it." I shook my head.

"Well, I'll just have to work on a new technique to surprise him again the next time he decides to fight me, won't I?" Rayne smirked again. She was too confident in her abilities...

"It doesn't matter for now... But, you said something about advice?"

"Yes, he said that one of the gangs—"

"Wait, don't tell me! One of them is looking for us, right?" I guessed. Based off our past record, it was a fair assumption.

"Yes, one which calls themselves the Night Ravens."

"What, are we on Hoenn's Most Wanted or something?! Seriously, that makes three groups after us now!" I said exasperatedly before sighing.

"Well, truthfully, we haven't seen CORE since Petalburg. For all we know, they may not care about us anymore. And we don't know if the Crimson Dawn is after us or not either, since they weren't exactly looking for us in the first place. We just sort of walked into their hands." Aira said, trying to lessen the revelation.

"Say that again when cloaked secret agents with both guns and swords and crazy Arcana Energy powers come crashing through that window and abduct us." I pointed at the window of our room, holding my head in my chin. There was a moment's pause as I held my arm out, before I pulled it back. "Huh, I was almost expecting it to happen right now. That's how it always works in movies..."

Rayne shook her head. "I doubt this gang is on a level comparable to CORE or the Crimson Dawn. More than likely they're only interested in us because we're survivors of that capsized ferry."

"We can't count on that, we must be prepared for the worst." I had a habit of preparing for the worst.

"Why don't we just try talking to them about it? Maybe we should just ask what they want." Aira suggested.

I cocked my head and gave her an odd look. "You're the one who used to go around killing things with a metal pipe and jamming glass shards in their chests. When did you become so tame?"

"Well, my life was always in danger back then in those situations, but after I went to the Pokémon Academy..."

"Our life may be in danger now as well. For all we know they may be looking to kill us."

"Just shut up..." Rayne growled. "I actually partway agree with Aira, we need to talk to them about this before we take any drastic measures. However, like Shrike says, we can't discount the possibility that they mean us harm. Towards that end, I will be the one to meet with them, as I alone among our group am able to fight by myself, unaided."

"And when do you suggest you pull this off?" I asked.

"Tomorrow night. I suggest you finish up any business you have on this island tomorrow, as who knows what we're getting ourselves into with this gang."

"I guess that means I'm battling Noah tomorrow, then... I was hoping to wait at least another couple of days... I want to get in at least one more training session tomorrow, though..." I rubbed my chin as I thought about what I would be doing tomorrow, wondering if my Pokémon and I were truly ready to take on a gym battle yet.

"I was thinking that we should go to the beach sometime while we're here, so why not tomorrow?" Aira suggested.

"I was thinking that exact same thing! How about you come along too, Rayne?" I grinned as I looked over at her.

"Well, I—"

"Oriel really needs to see more daylight, and this would be a good chance, don't you agree?" I couldn't keep from grinning as Rayne blushed, becoming flustered.

"Fine then; I'll go." Trying to make this topic die, Rayne briskly walked over to her bed and dropped into it, not even bothering to change out of her clothes.

"I'm serious, though. With you, it always seems to be Matariel this and Matariel that. Give Oriel a chance, why don't you?" Rayne didn't say anything in response and I sighed, Aira shrugging as she looked at me. "I'm going back to bed." I shook my head as I lay back down, Aira doing so as well.

"Hey, will someone turn off the lights?" I asked.

"Turn them off yourself." Rayne mumbled.

* * *

"I love water! Wow, I've never seen so much of it before!"

"There, she's out. You happy now?"

"I...didn't know she was so energetic..."

I stood in a pair of swim trunks on the small beach near where our boat was anchored, Rayne standing next to me in her normal clothes. She had claimed she didn't have a swimsuit. An Espeon, Rayne's Oriel, was happily running down the beach and jumped into the water, splashing around as if this was the best day of her life.

"That's because this is the ocean. You've never seen the ocean before, have you?" Aira, in a rather nice looking two-piece swimsuit, asked as she followed Oriel down the beach, Fury by her side. Despite being a fire Pokémon, he seemed to actually enjoy the water. Sitting down in the shallow water next to Oriel, Aira splashed some water at the Espeon, which caused her to laugh and splash water back at Aira, who next targeted Fury. A splashing fight quickly broke out among them as they all laughed.

"She's kind of cute, isn't she?" I smirked at Rayne.

"I don't consider Pokémon cute; especially not any Pokémon of mine." Rayne crossed her arms across her chest and looked away from me. "Unless, you mean..."

"I meant Oriel." I quickly cut Rayne off. "But anyways, you should have some fun! I fully expect you to join us in the water. Matariel too." I bent down and reached into the backpack I had set next to my feet, pulling out three Pokéballs. "Zethro, Jehiel, Ramiel; time for some relaxation!"

I threw the three Pokéballs into the air, catching them again as they burst open and my three Pokémon materialized.

The Cyndaquil's, Zethro's, eyes went wide as he saw the vast ocean. "Water! Shrike, this is your idea of relaxation?" He ran behind my legs, cowering in fear as he tried to keep the water out of his sight.

I sighed and shook my head. "Oh yeah, I forgot you despise water... You can still play in the sand, though. Or in the extremely shallow part; it'd be nice if you could get over this fear..."

"Master, must another battle be fought? I'm at the ready, just point me at the battle and I will make it a bloodbath!"

"No bloodbaths today... Just...water. And fun. At least, that was sort of the idea behind coming here..." I covered my face with my hand. _Why are my Pokémon so...weird..._

"Fun...?" Jehiel did not seem to understand the concept.

"Papa, I like water! Let's go play!" Ramiel exclaimed, hopping about excitedly.

"Yes! That's it! _Thank you_ Ramiel! To the water!" I yelled, thrusting my right index finger forward as I pointed at the water, happy that not _all_ my Pokémon were incapable of having fun in the most simple of ways.

I ran off towards the water with Ramiel at my side and Jehiel hesitantly following behind us, Zethro staying behind with Rayne. He looked up at her and cocked his head. "You don't like water either?" He innocently asked.

Rayne glanced down at Zethro with a look that made him avert his eyes. "I don't understand what's so fun about being in water." A moment of awkward silence passed between them as they stood alone on the beach while the rest of us took part in a giant splashing _war_ in the water. Even Jehiel had decided to join us, though his splashes were more aggressive than the rest of ours and he didn't laugh. "I think I'll go train with Matariel now. Over there." Rayne started off towards a stand of trees, leaving Zethro alone on the beach.

After taking a splash directly in my face from Oriel, I paused and turned around, looking up the beach at Zethro, who was all alone and sadly laying down on the sand now that Rayne had abandoned him. I frowned and stood up, walking over to Zethro. Aira and the other Pokémon stopped splashing and looked over at us. I sat down next to Zethro and patted him on the back, causing him to shiver due to my wet hand. Aira and the other Pokémon seemed to understand and followed me, Jehiel taking the time to ruffle his fur out and spray water everywhere.

"How about we just play in the sand? I can show you all how to make the best sand castle you can make! Well, without any buckets or anything..." Aira smiled as she put forth the idea, which seemed to perk Zethro up. I smiled at her, silently thanking her.

"Yes! Sand castles!" Oriel ran up to where Zethro and I sat and pranced about us before pausing, a confused look on her face. "...What are sand castles?"

* * *

Hours passed as we played in the sand together. For the first half, Rayne was off training with Matariel, but after a while I got irritated with her thinking she was excused from our little recreational time and went to where she was training. She refused to come of her own accord, so I dragged her back as she threatened to kill me the whole way, Matariel following behind, silent as always. Sitting her down in the sand I smiled. "There. Now, if you're not going to have fun, you can at least _be_ here."

"Why are you so intent on this ridiculous concept of playing in first water, now sand?" Rayne hissed.

"Because we haven't had enough downtime lately. We need to relax, and by we, I mean all of us." I went back to helping bury Oriel in the sand, who was shrieking with delight.

"If people are after us, as it seems, we can't afford to be off our guard." Rayne growled. She stayed put for the rest of our time at the beach despite her displeasure, though.

Around one in the afternoon we all decided that we were hungry, especially Rayne who would do anything to get away from the beach. Gathering up our stuff and putting on our actual clothes, we made our way to the Pokémon Trainer's Café. We didn't recall any of our Pokémon into their Pokéballs, so our group of three humans and six Pokémon drew a few glances.

After lunch we broke up, with Rayne wandering off to wherever with Matariel, while leaving Oriel in the care of Aira and me. The fun for the day over, I knew that I had my big battle with Noah coming up soon, and so I wanted to train some more first. Aira and Oriel deciding to come with me, I returned to the beach, but for a different purpose this time.

"All right! Zethro, show me your flame wheel!" I commanded.

Zethro's back erupted into flames as he began running forward as fast as his short legs could carry him, before jumping into the air and curling up into a ball, the flames from his back whipping around him and enveloping his body as he collided with a tree, rebounding off it and spinning through the air backwards until he came to rest on his feet. The impact had left a large scorch mark in the tree, and a few small shards of tree bark went flying.

"Now, Jehiel, fury swipes!"

Jehiel let out a wordless cry as he ran forward and leapt at the same tree Zethro had attacked, digging the claws on his hindpaws into the tree as he drew his right forepaw back before swiping it forward, raking the tree with his sharp claws. He repeated the swipe with his left forepaw, and then his right again, and did it repeatedly so fast that after the first few swipes I couldn't even differentiate which paw he was attacking with. Eventually, he stopped the attack and let go of his grip on the tree, dropping to the ground and running back to me. Jehiel's repeated attacks over the same area had cut several wide and surprisingly deep notches into the tree.

"And finally, Ramiel, thundershock!"

Ramiel spread his legs apart and growled as his fur began to raise on end, tiny sparks hopping from hair to hair. After a brief charge, Ramiel roared as electricity leapt from every single hair on his body towards the target tree that by now had suffered through two attacks. The air around Ramiel's body glowed brightly for a moment as the several tiny threads of electricity combined together and hit the tree exactly on the same spot Zethro and Jehiel had attacked. There was a loud crack as the tree broke apart where it had been forced to endure three attacks, the wood splintering and flying through the air as the top half of the tree fell down. Ramiel's fur sparked a few last times as it settled back down, smoke rising into the air from the splintered ends of the two tree halves.

"I think you're ready..." Aira whispered.

"Amazing..." Oriel was just as stunned.

A grin spread across my face.

"Noah...I hope you're prepared. I am."

**End of Chapter 23**


	24. Chapter 24

_Author's Note: Well, I've been lazy with updating here again, despite updating elsewhere... This is a pretty big update I have to do here, three new chapters. I also wrote a new prologue and a revision of chapter 1 (1v2) and was thinking of adding them to the start of the story (needing to edit every chapter in order to insert the prologue), but I've now changed my mind. Due to how complicated that would be and the general awkwardness this revision has created, I have decided not to upload the prologue and chapter 1v2 here after all. If you do wish to see them, either message or email me and I can give you a link to where to read them._

* * *

**Chapter 24**

**Shrike**

_"Welcome to the Dewford Island Pokémon Gym, home of Noah, the surfing master with a heritage for hand-to-hand combat,"_ the sign that hung next to the entrance to the large, dome-shaped building read. I looked up from the sign and at the building itself, not able to shake the feeling that it looked familiar.

"It looks just like Petalburg Gym..." I observed.

"Well, all Gyms have a standardized design, meaning they all look basically the same." Aira shrugged.

I walked up to the doors of the gym and through them as they slid open, Zethro sitting on my shoulder to conserve energy for the upcoming battle. Or maybe it was just because he was lazy. The latter was more likely. Behind me Aira and Oriel followed like they were my own personal entourage or something.

Before I had time to ask the receptionist about Noah, or even look around the gym's foyer, Noah himself rushed out of a door as he clapped his hands together. "Shrike! I knew you'd be coming eventually! Oh, and hey, Aira! Long time no see, huh? No slinking away from me this time, either." Noah chuckled to himself as he quickly herded us through the door he had come out of, without allowing us time to say even a single word to him.

I grinned slyly at Aira. "See; one way or another, I knew I'd get you two to talk to each other."

"You didn't have any involvement in this," Aira whispered harshly to me.

"I brought you here. I consider that enough involvement."

The door slid closed behind us, and looking around I found that we were in what looked to be a small office. A steel-framed desk with a glass top surface took up most of the room, although not much adorned its surface other than a simple sign reading "Dewford Gym Leader – Noah Roberts." Noah dropped into a cushioned chair behind the desk and spun around in it, before coming to rest with his feet on top of his desk. I glanced behind me and saw that the wall the door was on was covered in multiple video screens, showing feeds from video cameras positioned around the outside and inside of the gym.

"This used to be the security office, however as I had no real office of my own—apparently whoever designed these buildings didn't expect the gym leader to ever want to relax by himself—I decided this was as good a room as any to claim. As a plus, it allows me to see when anybody who looks like a potential challenger enters. I can then greet them personally, so they don't have to go through reception. I always found that having to talk to a receptionist to get a battle seemed so...distant. So, Aira, whatcha been up to? See you've made a friend or too since I last saw you, but if I'm not mistaken, I thought you wouldn't yet be ready to graduate the Pokémon Academy." Noah rubbed his chin as he pondered this question.

Aira and I had sat down in two chairs that faced the desk, Oriel lying down on the floor between the chairs. "Well, I guess my graduation was kind of sped up after that...attack on Petalburg. I assume you've heard of it?"

"Yes, I have... Was quite a peculiar incident... No one's even sure of what happened yet, but I guess that's only to be expected since it just happened a few days ago. I suppose it will take a while to figure out what that weapon was, who was behind it, and most importantly why they did it."

Aira and I quickly shot each other a glance, and while I had a feeling Noah had noticed it, he didn't probe any deeper about our connection to the attack.

"Well, if you know that it isn't yet time for me to graduate I'm guessing you know that it's only a few months until then, right?"

Noah nodded "I was planning on attending your graduation; guess plans have changed now."

"After the Pokémon Academy at Petalburg was damaged in the attack, the students there were transferred to other Pokémon Academies since repairs will take a few months. However, since I was so close to graduation and the best in my class—indeed, some of my teachers hailed me as the best student they've ever had—I was authorized to graduate early. Before the incident, I had met Shrike—who turned out to actually be a friend I had known online for the past year or two—and decided to travel with him."

I noticed Aira's hand creeping dangerously close to mine, and pulled my hand away. Aira frowned and withdrew her hand.

"Well, want to try your hand at a battle with me again?" Noah pulled a Pokéball off his belt and spun it on the tip of his finger. "Considering our last battle didn't turn out so well, I'd like to try my hand at another one."

Aira looked down and to the left. "Well, er...I just don't feel like I'm ready yet. I mean, sure, Fury and I are both more experienced now, but you're a gym leader and all!"

"I was a gym leader in training when we last met. But, I can understand that you're nervous. Oh well. Some other time, perhaps? Just be sure to come back when you feel ready; I think I'm owed at the very least another battle with you for what I've done for you."

Aira smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be sure to come back sometime."

"Well, if you want a battle that bad, I can offer you one right now," I spoke up. "Noah, I've come to challenge you!"

"Yeah! There's no way we can lose!" Zethro cheered on from my shoulder, although as with most people in the world, Noah wouldn't be able to understand him.

"Rock on!" Noah leapt from his chair to his feet, clenching his hands into fists and holding them in front of him in a boxing pose, as if he was personally going to fight me hand to hand. "As you can plainly see, I'm not currently in a battle, so you don't even have to wait in line! I've been bored lately, so let's not drag this wait out any longer!"

Noah grabbed my wrist and kicked open the office door, pulling me out into the foyer and around through a door behind the receptionist's desk, Zethro hanging onto my shoulder tightly so as not to fly off. As we passed the desk the receptionist shook her head, as if this wasn't the first time Noah had done this. In the room behind the door I found myself stumbling down a stand of bleachers that ringed the large circular-shaped room that held the Gym's main battle arena. At the bottom of the bleachers, Noah vaulted over a low wall and onto a battlefield covered in sand about six feet below, pulling me over with him. While he landed gracefully on his feet, I ended up slamming into the ground headfirst, falling over onto my chest and squashing Zethro, who had also fallen off my shoulder and also landed on his head, beneath me.

Noah grinned nervously and scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry about that. That's not how the challengers are supposed to enter this arena, but it's the fastest way."

"And the most painful..." I moaned, crawling to my feet and stretching all my limbs out to make sure they worked. I was glad the battlefield was covered in sand; otherwise the fall may have hurt a lot more than it had.

"I'm fine..." Zethro moaned as he rolled onto his feet and shook sand out of his fur. That he seemed to be perfectly fine after falling six feet into his head and then having me land on him was a testament to his endurance.

"Oh! Are you sure you're all right? That didn't look very pleasant..." Oriel said as she rushed up to the low wall at the bottom of the bleachers and looked down over it.

"They're fine, I'm sure..." Aira picked Oriel up and carried her away from the edge, walking a few rows up into the bleachers and sitting Oriel and herself down.

"That your Espeon, Aira?" Noah asked, cocking his head.

"No. She belongs to another traveling companion of ours." Aira shook her head.

"I see, so you have a third person traveling with you..." Noah thought this over for a moment before shrugging. "Well, come on Shrike, let's get this battle on!"

Shakily I walked over to the challenger's end of the battlefield after picking up Zethro. I knew that I was spoiling him rotten by carrying him everywhere, but holding him in my arms just prior to the big battle helped to calm me down somewhat. As I stepped into the outlined box for the challenger to stand in, four short rails rose up out of the sand around me, and a platform that had been hidden beneath the sand rose up about five feet, providing me with a better view of the battlefield. I noticed that Noah had also risen up on a similar platform.

A door on the wall that surrounded the battlefield slid open, and a referee dressed in black pants and a white and black striped shirt came running out, nodding to Noah as he stepped into the outline of a third box on the ground, off to the side of where the actual battlefield was marked off. He too rose up on a platform, which seemed to rise slightly higher than either Noah's or mine.

The referee held up two flags in the air, one in each hand. "This will be a three on three match. The challenger, Shrike Flamestar, versus the Dewford Island Gym Leader, Noah Roberts! Each trainer, please send out your first Pokémon!"

_How does he know my name...? Was Noah expecting me to come at this exact time or something...?_

"All right! Let's get this on!" Noah plucked a Pokéball from the belt around his waist and threw it down onto the battlefield. The Pokéball split open and in a burst of light, a squat yellow and black Pokémon had appeared on Noah's side of the battlefield.

"This will be no contest, you can't beat us!" Noah's Makuhita exclaimed as it flexed it its arms and pounded its hands which resembled boxing gloves against each other, its somewhat flabby body jiggling as it hobbled closer to the line that divided the two sides of the battlefield.

_He's not starting with a water type, so, might as well..._ "Zethro, you're on!" I yelled.

"I won't let you down, Shrike!" Zethro yelled as he leapt from my arms onto the rail that surrounded the platform I was on, and then down onto the battlefield below. "Cyndaquil!" he cried as he spread his feet apart and his back burst into flames.

Noah smirked but remained silent at my choice.

"Shrike Flamestar's Cyndaquil, Zethro, versus the Gym Leader Noah's Makuhita! The battle will begin in three, two, one, fight!"

I was poised and ready for the battle, and got the first command in. "Zethro, use agility! Avoid being hit!"

Noah was quick to reply with his own command. "Makuhita, begin charging up a focus punch and attack when ready!"

As Zethro begin to rapidly run around the battlefield in an erratic and seemingly random pattern, Makuhita closed its eyes as it pulled its right arm back. While Makuhita stood motionless, Zethro was a blur as he ran around at a speed high enough that I could barely keep track of him.

"Zethro, avoid his front and hit him with a quick attack!" I yelled, hoping that Zethro's random running wouldn't take him into range of Makuhita's attack.

Unfortunately, that was precisely what happened. Just as I gave the new command, Zethro ran across the battlefield in front of where Makuhita stood. "Hita!" Noah's Pokémon yelled as it suddenly swung its arm forward so fast that it didn't even seem to have moved, but teleported between positions. I had bitten my lip in worry, however Zethro had apparently anticipated the attack and jumped into the air before it crossed in front of Makuhita, bouncing off the other Pokémon's head and flipping into the air behind it.

"Good thinking!" I yelled, relieved that Zethro had anticipated the attack and been able to dodge it. "Now then, hit it with a flame wheel from behind!"

Zethro landed on the ground and spun around as he dug his paws into the sand to slow himself down. As soon as he was able to overcome his backwards momentum, he set off in a short sprint at Makuhita's back, leaping into the air and rolling into a ball at the last second, the fire from his back wrapping around his body. Makuhita grimaced as it began to turn around to face Zethro, but the Cyndaquil was too fast for Makuhita. Zethro collided squarely with Makuhita's back, knocking the fighting Pokémon down and pushing it across the battlefield a few feet. Zethro jumped forwards off Makuhita, leaving behind a scorch mark on its back.

Makuhita growled deeply as it pulled itself up, Noah shaking his head. "Now now, those fire attacks sting a little, don't they? No matter. Makuhita, let's put out that little fireball with rain dance."

_What the! Dammit, his Makuhita knows water-type moves too!_

Makuhita clapped its hands together before raising them up into the air, a faint blue aura surrounding its body. Zethro looked around nervously as rainclouds formed overhead, an odd sight to see indoors. Rain suddenly began to pour from the clouds, soaking the sand covered battlefield. Energy fields around the platforms Noah, the referee, and I stood on deflected the rain, forcing it to pour down the back of the platforms instead.

Zethro squealed as the flames on his back were suddenly extinguished, huddling into a ball as if the rain was hurting him, which I highly doubted. "Zethro, pull yourself together! You can get through this! It's just a little water!"

"But...I don't like water..." Zethro whined, rooted to where he was curled up.

"Heh, tricked ya." Noah smirked. "Makuhita, let's try a focus punch again; I don't think we have to worry about being interrupted this time."

Makuhita bounded over to where Zethro was huddled, pulling its right arm back as Zethro remained motionless, shivering at every raindrop that fell on him.

"Zethro, move!" I yelled frantically.

"Maku...hita!" Makuhita's arm swung forward, the punch connecting with the defenseless, cowering Cyndaquil and throwing him back into the air. Zethro squealed as he flew through the air above the battlefield, straight towards my platform. An energy field flashed momentarily as Zethro collided with the barrier right in front of me, limply falling to the ground below.

"ZETHRO!" I yelled as I gripped the platform's rail and peered down below, finding that Zethro lay on his back at the base of my platform.

"Ouch, that looked like it hurt..." Noah said, sounding sincerely concerned.

"I'm okay..." Zethro muttered as he rolled onto his feet, sagging on them slightly. I sighed, relieved, but was worried as it looked like he couldn't take another hit. Zethro had proven that his endurance was high, but even he had limits as to how much raw damage he could take.

"I'm sorry I have to do this, Shrike, but hey; it's my job to win. Makuhita, let's go for that Cyndaquil's weakness! Surf!" Noah seemed split between worry about rather Zethro would be all right and the urge to win.

"No, not more water..." Zethro moaned, seeming frozen.

_Dammit...Surf too? If only we could get another hit in, that would weaken Makuhita enough that another, final hit after that should be easy..._ I looked down at Zethro, but suddenly found myself not looking at him, but the ground around him. The sand had turned wet from the rain, making it sticky and dense, but...

A blue aura formed around Makuhita again, a flood of water suddenly appearing out of midair around the Pokemon, contained within the battlefield not by an energy barrier like around the platforms but by some unseen force; which of course I now knew was likely Arcana Energy. I had to admit that some of the magic of Pokémon attacks was lost now... The water began to roar down the battlefield towards Zethro, who remained motionless.

"Zethro! Dig into the sand! Now!" I yelled, gripping the rail on the platform tightly. I felt an odd sensation in and around my body, as if energy was flowing from me and towards Zethro, but I ignored it. I had hardly done any practice with Zethro on this technique, and it was probably really wet in the sand, but, perhaps...

Zethro suddenly perked up and stared at the wave bearing down on him for a second before nodding. "I can't be afraid of all water..." The wet fur on his back suddenly crackled and burst into flame again, the rain unable to douse it this time. Crying out wordlessly, Zethro suddenly began to frantically dig into the sand, throwing sand up into the air in his wake as he descended down into the ground. Some more sand was kicked back to plug up the hole he had formed, which would help to keep as much water as possible from getting into the tunnel. Just as the hole was filled, the wave crashed down onto where Zethro had been just moments ago. The wave rolled forward and against the barrier around my platform, the energy field shining continuously as it held the water back, momentarily blinding me from seeing the battlefield.

The water eventually receded and I was able to see again. I noticed that, miraculously, it had stopped raining sometime during the surf attack. While Makuhita stood on Noah's side of the battlefield, looking around nervously, Zethro was nowhere to be seen.

"Are you insane! Any tunnel he digs will be flooded with all the water that seeped down into the sand during that attack!" Noah yelled. Aira gasped on the sidelines as she realized what that could mean.

Admittedly, I hadn't thought of that in the panic of the moment; it had just seemed to me like the best way for Zethro to avoid the attack at the time. I gritted my teeth together, my muscles tense with anxiety as I waited for some sign.

Suddenly, the sand began to rumble beneath where Makuhita stood. "Shrike, I won't let you down!"

Zethro burst into the air beneath Makuhita, hitting it hard and knocking it out of the way, the flames on his back scorching Makuhita yet again. Zethro flipped backwards in midair, water flying off of his fur as he hung in the air above where Makuhita now lay.

"Zethro, thank goodness! Now, finish Makuhita off with a flame wheel!" I eagerly ordered.

"Cynda..quil!" Zethro cried out as his flames intensified, burning brightly as he began to fall straight downwards, curling into a ball of fire as he plummeted straight down towards the stunned Makuhita. Makuhita screamed as Zethro crashed down onto it, its chest blackening as Zethro's fire burned it. Zethro bounced off Makuhita's chest and landed on the sand a few feet away, panting as it turned to face Makuhita, his flames extinguishing.

"Get up; you can't lose!" Noah yelled.

Makuhita began to struggle to pull itself up, burying its fists into the sand as it tried to prop itself up on them. However, its strength suddenly gave out and it collapsed, falling back into the sand as its eyes closed.

"The winner of round one is the challenger, Shrike Flamestar!" The referee rose a flag up in my direction, as Noah grudgingly recalled his fainted Makuhita. "Round two will begin once Noah chooses his second Pokémon, and Shrike Flamestar announces whether he will continue to use his Cyndaquil or switch to a new Pokémon."

"I did it! Did you see that, Shrike! There was all that water, even underground, but I did it!" Zethro hopped about and punched one of his stubby forepaws into the air excitedly.

"Don't get too caught up in the moment, that was only the first of three." I said to Zethro, but I couldn't keep from smiling at the win nonetheless. "Want to take a rest and leave the next round up to one of the others?"

"I'm as ready to fight as I'll ever be now. I say to bring it on!" To accent his fighting words Zethro flared up his back again, small puffs of steam rising into the air as the intense fire vaporized the water on Zethro's wet fur.

"Fine then, I won't force you to draw out, but I really think you should take a rest..." I mumbled. "I choose to stick with Zethro for this next round."

"It's almost as if you can understand what he's saying," Noah mused. "The strength of such a bond between trainer and Pokémon; I would not mind losing to a trainer such as you. However, as a Gym Leader, I am obligated to do my absolute best to win. That said, I have decided on my next Pokémon." Noah had pulled another Pokéball from his belt and held it in his left hand, his fingers gripping it by just their tips as he held the Pokéball in front of his face, facing me. "Mankey! Let's up the ante!"

The Pokéball was tossed out onto the field and burst open, light bursting out of it as if it had been trapped within the confines of the ball. The light quickly took the form of a Pokémon with a round, fur covered body and lanky limbs. "Fight! Fight, fight, fight! Come on; you there, let's fight!" Noah's Mankey hopped about on its two-toed feet, waving its paws in the air at Zethro.

"Both Pokémon for round two have been chosen. The score is three Pokémon remaining versus two, in favor of the challenger, Shrike Flamestar. Round two will feature Shrike Flamestar's Cyndaquil, Zethro, versus the Gym Leader Noah's Mankey. Prepare to fight in three, two, one, fight!"

"Mankey, take the initiative and go for it!" Noah yelled.

_Wha—no attack command?_ I was distracted for a moment by the oddity of Noah's command, and by the time I remembered that I too had to give a command to Zethro, Noah's Mankey had already crossed the battlefield and was racking Zethro with his forepaws, small yet sharp claws glinting through the air and causing the flurry of his insanely fast swipes to appear as a mass of glittering light. Zethro was doing his best to avoid the attacks, however Mankey's attacks were simply way too fast for him and he was easily overwhelmed. "Zethro! Quick, defense curl!"

Zethro squealed and dropped to the ground, curling up into a ball and leaving only his back exposed to Mankey. Mankey grinned as he began to claw at Zethro's back, drawing red lines over Zethro's unprotected back.

"Mankey, abandon the attack now and—" Noah had realized what my plan was but wasn't able to fully say anything before Zethro acted on his own, having realized my plan as well.

"Quil!" Zethro's back was suddenly dancing with flames, Mankey's eyes going wide as he hopped backwards and yelped, his forepaws scorched and black from being right in the center of the flames as they ignited. He hobbled back to the other side of the battlefield and stuck his forepaws in the still wet sand, growling at Zethro.

"Nice move there, Shrike, but this could have been avoided if you didn't hesitate like that. There are no rules that say a trainer has to give an explicit command, after all. You'll need to get used to implicit commands if you truly want to succeed."

"I appreciate your tips, but is this really the time?" I asked.

"Shrike, I don't know how much longer I can last..." I looked down at Zethro, who was panting heavily now. Blood dripped from numerous wounds over his body, staining the sand he stood on a light red. Individually each wound was just a small scratch, but Noah's Mankey had been able to inflict quite a lot of them on Zethro. "I think I can still get an attack or two in, and I'd rather make this final stand than sit on the sidelines for the rest of the battle."

"Zethro... You'd rather fight to the point of defeat...?" I murmured

For the briefest moment I thought I saw a glint of blue light in Zethro's eyes, but as soon as I blinked it was gone. "Yes, I would rather fight now than just give up, or have to fight in a barely better state later."

"...I see. If that is what you want, than so be it. I knew it was a bad idea letting you fight again right away..."

During this brief exchange between me and Zethro, Noah had been watching with interest. "If I didn't know better I'd say you really could understand what he was saying. From what I gather, it's fight over forfeit, eh? Well then, Mankey, let's end this quickly!"

Mankey screeched and hopped back up, pulling his paws out of the sand. Again he charged at Zethro, but this time Zethro was prepared and made a charge of his own, the two Pokémon running towards each other. Mankey leapt into the air with his four paws spread out as Zethro reared back on his hind legs and jumped into the air as well. Directly over the center line of the battlefield the two Pokémon came to collide in midair, Zethro ramming into Mankey's chest as the monkey Pokémon grabbed onto Zethro with all of his paws, his short claws digging into Zethro. As Zethro cried out in pain, his back burst into flames again, Mankey screeching as he released his hold on the Cyndaquil and fell back through the air, his upper chest now burned black to match his paws. After just a second of being on, Zethro's flames disappeared as he limply fell to the ground. "Now, go on and win this without me..." Zethro squeaked, looking up at me weakly before his eyes slowly closed, Zethro finally succumbing.

I sighed and closed my own eyes as the referee held a flag up in Noah's direction. "Shrike Flamestar's Cyndaquil, Zethro, is no longer able to fight! The winner of round two is the Gym Leader Noah! Shrike Flamestar, please select a new Pokémon for round three. Noah, you may choose to switch out for your third Pokémon if you wish."

Noah silently shook his head to signal that he would stick with Mankey as I pulled Zethro's Pokéball off my belt, my head bowed down and eyes closed as I extended my arm and blindly recalled Zethro without a word, replacing the Pokéball back on the first place on my belt before moving down one and picking off the second Pokéball. _Zethro, even if we can't win this together, there's no way I'm letting you down._ I slowly opened my eyes and stared down at the Pokéball in my hand, before nodding and looking up at Noah. "Noah, know this. Me and Zethro first met when I saved his life. We've been in several more near death situations since then, and even if this isn't death, I cannot let the sacrifice of my closest friend go without retribution. There is no way I will let you win this battle now. Not a chance." I tossed the Pokéball up into the air over the battlefield and watched as it burst open, the red light from within taking the form of a small, four-legged Pokémon with spiky tan and brown fur and a bushy tail. "Jehiel! This is your time to fight!"

"A Zigzagoon? I was somehow expecting...more." My choice of second Pokémon must have seemed a fair bit anticlimactic to Noah. He apparently was not familiar with the bloodthirsty Zigzagoon.

"Jehiel, that Mankey is an enemy. It took down Zethro and must now pay. Do not hold back; however do not go too far either. I'm confident you know what I mean by now...I hope," I flatly said.

Jehiel turned to Noah's Mankey and growled, spreading his legs wide as his fur bristled up. "Master, I am honored that you chose me to enact revenge for our ally. While I still question your restraints, know that I will get as close as I can to shredding this vile opponent into hundreds upon thousands of small, bloody, chunks of vile meat as I can without actually shredding this vile opponent into hundreds upon thousands of small, bloody, chunks of vile meat!"

"I'd like to see you try, you tiny little runt! Come on and do your worst, such as that other runt before you!" Noah's Mankey mocked.

"What'd you call me! Master, please, give me permission just this once to slice him open straight down his soft belly to spill out his bloody entrails and feed them right back to him!" Jehiel was tense with anger as he deeply growled, facing down Noah's Mankey who continued to mock Jehiel.

"No, it's not worth going to jail over..." I sighed, Noah and even the referee seeming puzzled over what exactly was going on between the two Pokémon. "Noah, you know what you said about not always giving explicit commands? I think this is one of those matchups where neither of our Pokémon would really listen to what we have to say," I called over to Noah.

Noah laughed. "I have no idea what is going on down there, but I'm with you there. Half of the time normally Mankey won't listen to any commands I give, and with the way he's acting now, I don't have much hope for anything I say getting through to him. This round will simply be a fight between the Pokémon themselves, then."

"You hear that, Jehiel? You're on your own here; feel free to do whatever you want that doesn't involve killing Mankey!" I yelled out.

"...Killing him?" Noah seemed slightly shocked and appalled.

I nervously scratched the back of my head. "It's a long story... Referee, could you just start the fight, please?"

"Er...right. Round three will be Shrike Flamestar's Zigzagoon, Jehiel, versus Gym Leader Noah's Mankey. Prepare to fight in three, two, one, fight!"

"I am not a runt!" Jehiel screamed with fury as he charged towards Mankey faster than I had ever seen him run before. Mankey too charged at Jehiel, but was slower than the Zigzagoon was. Jehiel tackled Mankey and the two fell backwards as Jehiel latched onto Mankey with his claws and began tearing at Mankey with his fangs. Mankey meanwhile struggled and batted at the Zigzagoon with his long paws, but Jehiel resisted the buffet of blows from the Mankey and remained firmly latched onto it, his claws digging in deeper with each blow from Mankey.

"You...said something about killing, again?" Noah gasped as Jehiel buried his fangs into Mankey, tearing them away along with some of Mankey's flesh, sending blood splattering everywhere.

"His fangs are much too small to cause the damage he wishes he could inflict with them, and as long as I tell him not to kill, he won't...I think." I had to admit to myself that seeing Jehiel go all out like this was a little disturbing. "Jehiel, keep in mind, do not kill him! That is an order!" I yelled out.

Jehiel's grip on Mankey relaxed for a moment as I said it, which ended up being a bad thing for him. As Jehiel was momentarily distracted, Mankey screeched and gave Jehiel a strong kick, sending the Zigzagoon flying backwards through the air. Mankey hopped back on his feet, growling as blood dripped from the small wounds Jehiel's claws had caused, as well as where Jehiel had bitten into him and even torn off some of his flesh. The red of the blood mixed with the black of Mankey's charred fur on his chest, and I wondered just how much more physical damage the Mankey could take.

Jehiel was still flying through the air when Mankey made its next move, sprinting forwards faster than it had before and jumping up into the air, one arm swinging forwards to meet Jehiel with a solid punch, sending Jehiel soaring upwards now. I bit my lip as I watched Jehiel helplessly soar through the air, his eyes closed from the daze of such a two part attack. _Now, this is just dirty... Nothing illegal about it, though; just cheap..._

Jehiel reached the climax of its ascent and started to descend again, Mankey below with its arm pulled back, ready to again juggle Jehiel into the air. Jehiel's eyes split open and he looked down at Mankey below him as he rapidly approached. Jehiel smirked, showing his tiny fangs on which drops of Mankey's bloody still clung. Suddenly Jehiel's fur started to glow and the spikes of his fur which normally pointed backwards flipped around to face forward. From each of the tips of those spikes multiple pins composed of razor-sharp pieces of fur suddenly fired out, straight downwards at Mankey. I gasped as the pins from Jehiel's pin missile attack rained down on Mankey, some scattering harmlessly on the ground around the Pokémon, while most found themselves embedded over Mankey's body, piercing into him like hundreds of sharp needles. _I didn't teach him that attack, and I wasn't even planning to until he had quite a bit more experience! How the hell does he suddenly know how to use it! Has he been able to all this time!_

Mankey fell back from the attack and began to pull some of the pins out of him, resulting in him being so distracted that he didn't remember that Jehiel was still falling down from directly overhead. Jehiel's head collided square with Mankey's chest, knocking the wind out of him. Jehiel was quick to not let Mankey regain it by again latching onto him as he had before, again tearing into Mankey with his claws and fangs, even more viciously this time. Mankey rolled about from side to side, however Jehiel remained attached to him through all of it, tearing into Mankey ever more as blood seeped out from between the two Pokémon and onto the sand.

Noah seemed horrified at the increased violence of Jehiel's attacks, which we both knew would kill Mankey if he was left to continue. "Jehiel, stop that this moment! Get off Mankey! Now!" I cried out.

Jehiel reluctantly let go of Mankey and slowly walked backwards away from his enemy who lay limp on the sand, Mankey's charred chest fur now coated thoroughly with blood. Mankey twitched a little, at which Noah sighed in relief, but all the same he quickly recalled him back into his Pokéball. Jehiel looked up at me but didn't say anything as I shook my head, recalling him back as well.

"The Gym Leader Noah's Mankey is, decidedly, unable to battle. Shrike Flamestar's Zigzagoon Jehiel wins round three. Both trainers, please release your Pokémon for round four." The referee seemed slightly unsure what to rule on what had just happened, but apparently decided to go with the safe, normal route.

"That was...different." Noah too seemed unsure on what to say about the round.

"I'll be sure to talk to Jehiel after this battle... Perhaps letting him fight without my commands wasn't such a good idea... You...aren't going to be seeking a lawsuit or anything against us due to the harm he caused your Mankey, are you?" I hesitantly asked.

Noah chuckled. "No, no... I've seen other battles result in similar or worse injuries...although not many... For now, let's just move on to round four, shall we?" Noah produced another Pokéball and held it out. "This is my last Pokémon, while you still have two left...sort of. I will admit; maybe you'll be able to pull this off after all. Now, go, Poliwhirl!" Noah's last Pokémon burst out of its Pokéball; like Mankey before it Poliwhirl had a round body, but rather than being covered in fur it instead had blue, thin, and slimy skin. Its arms and legs resembled Makuhita's somewhat, with white boxing glove-like hands. A black spiral pattern set against a white background dominated most of its chest.

"So my partners have fallen in battle... I will not let the same happen to me," Poliwhirl said. I could tell just from his voice that of the three Pokémon Noah had used in this battle that Poliwhirl was the oldest, being much calmer in a fight than Mankey and not quite as overconfident as his Makuhita.

_So, a water type... I was expecting that... Perhaps in some way it's a good thing that Zethro was taken out before having to face Poliwhirl; he would have been completely overwhelmed. Plus, I have an ace up my sleeve for this..._ I removed the third and last Pokéball from my belt and began to juggle it in one hand, repeatedly throwing it lightly up into the air and then catching it again. "A water type, eh? I'm surprised you didn't try using it earlier against Zethro."

"Always save the best for last, besides, I knew that Zethro wouldn't last long against Mankey either, so there was no point in bringing Poliwhirl out so soon."

"Well, regardless, I think you may rather enjoy my third Pokémon. Ramiel, show them what you're made of!" Catching the Pokéball one last time I lobbed it up into the air, watching as it arced over the railing of my platform and popped open over the battlefield. A small, canine Pokémon appeared out of it, his green fur rising up in spikes on his back legs and forming a broad, flat mass of fur in between his two long ears. He was rather small in comparison to Poliwhirl, a fact which the Electrike was well aware of immediately upon seeing it.

"Er, papa? I understand that this is just a battle, but...how am I supposed to fight that thing? It's a lot bigger than me..." Ramiel whined. He kept his composure and remained facing Poliwhirl without showing any visible signs of fright or weakness, which I took as an improvement.

"An electrical type... Well, I won't say the type advantage won't help you, but...he looks sort of young..."

"We've come this far, we can't back down now! Come on Ramiel; let's show them what we've got!" I shouted, pumping my fist into the air.

"Yes, Papa! We'll show them how unstoppable we are!" Ramiel perked up and sparks began to run down from his fur to the small puddles of water on the floor as his fur began to build a static charge, spiking up and giving the young Electrike a much more formidable look.

"Don't get too full of yourself, kid. I've stopped the supposed unstoppable before," Poliwhirl said punching his fists against each other.

"The Gyn Leader Noah has a single Pokémon remaining while the challenger Shrike has two! Round four will be Shrike's Electrike Ramiel versus Noah's Poliwhirl! Round four will start in three, two, one, fight!"

"Ramiel, keep your distance and attack with thundershock!" I yelled.

"Got it!" Ramiel's fur bristled and glowed as it was charged with electricity, before a jolt of lightning was fired at Poliwhirl.

"Too slow" Poliwhirl said as he leapt into the air, the lightning flying below him and hitting the ground behind where he had stood.

"Poliwhirl, counter with bubblebeam." Noah commanded, his arms crossed across his chest confidently.

Still in the air, Poliwhirl breathed in deeply before exhaling a dense stream of bubbles. I knew from my studies that the bubbles in these attacks weren't ordinary bubbles, but rather somewhat explosive ones which, on contact with any solid object, explode violently inflicting damage from both the force of the explosion and by splashing the opponent with water. The stream of bubbles was fast, and I had no chance to give Ramiel a command, much less think of _what_ I would command.

Ramiel didn't have an opportunity to do anything either, and the bubbles collided with him as he stood there, the several small explosions of the bubbles blowing him backwards as he cried in pain, eventually coming to a stop as he crashed into the base of the platform I was on, the continuing stream of bubbles pinning him against the platform. "Papa! Help me!" He screamed.

"Ramiel! Charge your fur up with electricity again!" I frantically yelled, some idea of what to do having come to me.

Ramiel growled as he forced an eye open, looking down the field at Poliwhirl who was relentless in its bubblebeam barrage. Sparks began to run through his fur, weak at first, but gradually building up power. Just as Noah seemed to understand what was going to happen, Ramiel yelled a wordless cry as his fur burst into a bright glow, lightning leaping between his fur so fast that it looked as if his entire body was covered in a blanket of electricity. This electricity immediately branched off Ramiel's body and into the bubbles of the bubblebeam, leaping from bubble to bubble as the electricity traveled up the bubblebeam attack towards Poliwhirl. It all happened too fast for Poliwhirl to dodge, and the electricity quickly jumped off the last bubble and onto the source of them. Poliwhirl screamed as he fell backwards, the bubblebeam instantly breaking off as Poliwhirl thrashed about on the ground, its body sparking.

Ramiel dropped to the ground, panting. Not all of the electricity had been discharged into Poliwhirl, and his body still shone brightly. "Now Ramiel, move in for a spark attack!" I yelled, capitalizing on Poliwhirl's momentarily stunned state.

"I will not let Papa down!" Ramiel yelled, charging down the field to where Poliwhirl lay defenseless. "I will win this battle, I will make Papa proud!" Ramiel leaped into the air, his forepaws reached outwards with his claws bared. "This will be the end!"

Time seemed to slow down as Ramiel approached where Poliwhirl lay, and in an instant I realized that this was all wrong. Poliwhirl had been done too long; the shock it got through the bubbles should not have stunned it for long at all, the gaps the electricity had to jump between bubbles would have drastically weakened the initial charge of the shock. "Ramiel, get out of there!"

I was too late, however. Just as Ramiel closed in on Poliwhirl, it suddenly jumped to its feet, pulling its arm back and punching Ramiel just as the dog Pokémon would have hit him. Poliwhirl grunted as some electricity was discharged into its arm, but it was otherwise unharmed. Ramiel, however, yelped shrilly as he flew backwards, twisting through the air before coming to land on the ground in what looked to be just a mangled lump of fur, the electricity covering his body having been discharged completely between contact with Poliwhirl's fist and then the ground.

"Ramiel!" I yelled, frantically jumping over the railing of the platform and to the ground below, running out onto the battlefield to where my Electrike lay. Zethro may have been able to handle an attack like that, but Ramiel had nowhere near as much endurance.

"Shrike Flamestar, you are not permitted to enter the battlefield during an official battle. Leave now or you will be disqualified!" The referee barked as I kneeled down next to Ramiel.

"Leave him be, can't a trainer be allowed to care for their Pokémon? Besides, I feel like something special is about to happen." Noah intervened.

I gently rolled Ramiel over onto his back, resting a hand on his chest. I sighed in relief as I felt his chest expand and contract, I had been worried that much worse had happened. Ramiel's eyes slowly opened and he looked up into my face, tears rolling out of both of our eyes. "Papa... I don't...I don't want to fail you..." Ramiel quietly whispered.

"I never should have let you fight, you're too young... What the hell was I thinking...? You're too young to fight..." Images flashed in my mind of the CORE base, of the gun Zack had given me, of running like a coward through the halls, avoiding everyone just so as not to fight them. "I'm too young to fight... This isn't right, we're all just too young... This isn't supposed to be happening!" My fingers clenched on Ramiel's fur as thoughts of CORE and the Crimson Dawn overran my mind, of my commitment to fight them if need be.

"No, that's not it... You, me; Papa, we're not too young. We just...we're both missing something." I noticed that Ramiel seemed to be getting stronger again before my eyes, as if my touch was somehow enough to heal him.

"Missing? What are we missing?" I asked, my hand still clenched on Ramiel's fur.

"I can feel it, I've been feeling it. Ever since I met you, Papa, I've been feeling like I'm missing something. I know that it's the same with you, with Rayne, with Jehiel, with Matariel, with Oriel, with Zethro even. We're all missing something, but it doesn't mean we can't fight, just that we have to prepare ourselves for when we do find it. And sometimes, to move forward, you have to move backwards." Ramiel stood up as if he had never been hurt, and I pulled my hand away from him.

"Ramiel, what just happened?" I asked.

"A hint at your future, a hint at my future." Ramiel smiled at me, and I noticed that his eyes had turned blue. Before I could ask anything more, the blue faded away.

"Ramiel, are you okay?" I asked.

"Papa...what's going on?" Ramiel whispered.

"I want to know the same, but there's no use concerning ourselves with that now. We're in the middle of a battle after all."

"The battle...I want to win it, Papa. I want to win it for you." Ramiel said, determined.

"If you do then you'll just lose again. I don't know what happened, but you've been given a second chance. Now, don't fight for me, fight for yourself. Fight so that you can move forwards, not so that I can." I smiled as I stood up. "Noah, I think we're ready again." I walked back over to my platform, which had dropped back to ground level after I jumped off it, and walked back into it, crossing my arms over my chest with newfound determination.

"But...this is against..." The referee was cut off by Noah, who shook his head in disapproval at the referee's determination to have me disqualified.

"Just drop it. I don't think anyone in this gym knows what just happened, but whatever it was it was very important, that much is obvious. Now, Shrike, how do you say we finish this fight?"

I nodded and smirked. "That attack will be your loss. Through such loses is how one grows stronger, how one moves forward in life."

"You may have knocked me out, but it won't happen again! Me, Papa—no, not just Papa, but Shrike—we will move forward! Even if it means being knocked down a thousand times, we will not give up!" Ramiel declared.

At the same time, Ramiel and I yelled out together, "This time, we'll show you just how unstoppable we are!"

"Come on then, let's see this in action! Poliwhirl, let's go!" Noah yelled, calm as always. "Forget ranged attacks, get in as close as you can!"

"Ramiel, let's finish what we started. Do the same as Poliwhirl, forget ranged attacks and close in!"

Both Pokémon ran at each other from opposing sides of the battlefield, just as Zethro and Mankey had done. As the two Pokémon approached each other time seemed to slow down again and I knew exactly what was going to happen, but this time, I was prepared. With just inches left between the two Pokémon, I suddenly yelled out "Stop!"

Ramiel stopped in his tracks and Poliwhirl began a flurry of punches in the air exactly where Ramiel would have been if I hadn't had him stop at that exact moment. Poliwhirl's eyes widened as he realized his punched were just inches short of their target, but I wasn't finished giving commands quite yet.

"Now, Ramiel, thunderbolt!" I yelled, thrusting my fist into the air again.

Ramiel was one step ahead of me and his fur was already sparking with electricity before I even finished saying the command. Seconds later, Ramiel unleashed a massive surge of electricity at Poliwhirl from pointblank range, the electricity completely enveloping the Pokémon and lighting up the air in a bright flash that made it hard to see as Poliwhirl collapsed; this time, I knew he wasn't faking it.

As the light faded, revealing Poliwhirl lying on its back with sparks arcing between its body and the ground, a slow clapping was heard. I looked up at Noah, thinking that it was him congratulating our miraculous victory, but found that he was looking around for who it was too.

"Oh, how you have improved. And so fast, too. But then again, that's what makes you and your Pokémon so special, and appealing." The voice came from one of the recessed doorways that led out to the battlefield, and were how the battlers were supposed to enter it, rather than jumping off the bleachers. Out of the shadows a man walked, a gray cloak trailing in the sand behind him. "I'm just glad I was able to get to you first, Shrike."

I looked down at the blond haired man, his blue eyes seeming to pierce into my soul as he stared back, and gasped. "Zack..."

"Long time no see, huh, Shrike?" Zack grinned. "We have a lot to talk about."

**End of Chapter 24**


	25. Chapter 25

_Author's Note: Second chapter of this large update chunk, and longest I've yet written. I don't consider it that great though, too much dialogue... Still, it's very explanatory._

* * *

**Chapter 25**

**Shrike**

"Long time? It's only been a few days..." I said as the platform I had been standing on throughout most of the gym battle lowered to the ground and I stepped off it, walking over to Zack as Ramiel ran up alongside me. Noah, not knowing who Zack was, decided to stand back for the moment after recalling Poliwhirl.

Zack reached out from under his cloak and grabbed my shoulders, staring into my eyes as his mouth twisted into a sort of half-smile, "But it seems like it's been so much longer, almost like it's been a year since we've last seen each other."

I knocked his hands off briskly. "What do you want? I'm sure you didn't come here just to hit on me again."

"As I said, we have a lot to talk about. This is no place to have such important chats though, so how about we return to your room at the Pokémon Center?"

"How do you know we have a room there?" I narrowed my eyes, wondering how long Zack had been watching me.

"How should I not know?" Zack's voice suddenly turned a lot more serious as he spoke. "Listen, you wouldn't believe the attention you've been getting from certain circles as of late. And I'm not just talking about CORE and The Crimson Dawn, though of course they are the two biggest. You've drawn a lot of attention for reasons I'm sure you have no idea yet, and information on your current whereabouts is very common if you know where to look. Ever wonder how you were found so quickly back in Petalburg?" Zack stepped back and I noticed that all of a sudden he looked a lot different than he had a moment ago when he had been hitting on me.

_He has a point there, we do seem to be easy to find... That's sort of creepy..._ I thought, before asking, "And those other circles are?"

Zack smirked. "Daedalus, for one"

My eyes widened as I suddenly pieced it all together. "Wait, so, you're..."

"No, I'm not Daedalus. No one is Daedalus, as Daedalus is not one single entity. Daedalus is a group, a collective of spies and moles who infiltrate into the very heart of this world's dark underground. I am simply a Daedalus agent; one of their CORE agents, to be exact. Of course, I've royally fucked that up now, in no small part due to you and the incident at Petalburg where I really had no choice but to jeopardize my own mission for the greater good. But I digress, as I said this is not the place. Go on, get your badge—you've certainly earned it—and return to your room. I'll be waiting for you." Zack turned around and walked back into the shadows and through the door.

"What was that about? Did you know that person?" Aira asked from up on the bleachers, leaning over the rail.

"I'll tell you about him later; it goes back to the Petalburg attack. It seems we may be due for some answers, though..." I turned around and walked over to where Noah stood, recalling Ramiel into his Pokéball as I walked.

"Friend of yours?" Noah asked.

"Depends on your definition of friend. I'm pretty sure that he's an ally at least, though."

"Personally, he kind of creeped me out. Was he hitting on you?"

"You don't want to know…" I sighed. "Anyways, that was a good battle. Quite different than what I was expecting..."

"Have to say I didn't really expect half of that battle either. If it had been an exhibition match half the audience probably would have left halfway through, and the other half would be worshipping you and trying to get you on TV. Too bad it wasn't; you really could have found some fame," Noah said.

"Yeah, well, I don't exactly want to be famous." I shrugged, wondering what it would be like to be famous, but really not wanting to find out.

"You never know until you are, and of course half the time it's too late then. Anyways, I have something to give you for this of course." Noah grinned as he pulled a small plastic box out of his pocket, placing it in my hand. "As an official representative of the Pokémon League, and reigning Gym Leader of Dewford Island Pokémon Gym, I am proud to present you with this official Pokémon League Knuckle Bade. A very well earned congratulations on your achievement, Shrike Flamestar."

I looked over the plain plastic box for a moment before prying it open. The badge inside glinted in the light, resting on a pad of foam. The badge was shaped like a boxing glove, signifying the gym's primary fighting type alignment, and colored blue for the most part except for the circle at the bottom which was orange. _My first gym badge... But...why don't I feel happier? This is what I've always wanted, and even through the struggles with CORE and the Crimson Dawn, I achieved the first step in my dream._ "Thank you," I finally said. "No matter what happens, the badge will always be a remembrance to me of this battle."

"That's what they're for! Come on, let's go and get the paperwork over with." Noah gestured me to follow as he walked towards one of the doors in the side of the battlefield.

"Paperwork? I've never heard about that before..."

"Because it's boring and no one likes it. It's not like that badge is magic or anything, it's just a piece of metal. How else is the League supposed to know you beat me?"

_Sometimes, being a Trainer is a lot less glamorous than it looks on TV...  
_

* * *

"Where have you been?"

As soon as Aira, Oriel, and I walked into our room at the Pokémon Center I found Rayne standing with her arms crossed, looking extremely agitated. _What did I do now...?_ "Having a gym battle with Noah, I thought I told you about that? After the battle the paperwork took longer than expected, and by the end of that I was hungry so Aira and I went out to get something to eat. During that time we talked some and I told her about Zack and his involvement in Petalburg. Along the way she saw this shop selling, well, I really have no idea what but she had to go in there and look around for a while. In return she let me stop at the Pokémart so I could buy some food and such for my Pokémon to congratulate them. I then of course had to drop off my Pokémon down the hall to be checked up and cared for; Zethro got hurt pretty bad..." I gestured towards my belt, which for the first time in a long while didn't have any Pokéballs attached to it.

"Do you know what time it is?" Rayne asked, looking even more agitated.

"...No." I scratched the back of my neck, realizing that I had sort of lost track of time.

"Six. We're doing this whole Night Ravens thing tonight, and we need time to plan what to do in case things go bad. We can't waste time on petty things like gym battles and shopping."

"She's right. Gym battles are of little consequence to us, much bigger things are happening in the world and we need to be focusing on our more important objectives." Matariel spoke up from where she sat between the beds the two girls slept in.

"Well excuse me for being human and a Pokémon Trainer who wants to actually act like one rather than some sort of superhero." I walked over to my bed and dropped the bag I was carrying onto it, dropping down onto it hard. Rayne's sour mood had made me feel sour as well.

A voice was suddenly heard through the open window that looked out over the balcony, not surprising me but startling Aira. "Ah, so you learned of that gang already. Well, I can help you out there." Out on the balcony, Zack dropped down from above and walked in through the unlocked door.

"...Were you on the roof? How did you get on the roof? How _long_ have you been on the roof?" I asked. Rayne seemed surprised by his appearance and I realized I had forgotten to tell her that I was expecting him to show up again.

"Same way I got in that tree when we first met, I climbed."

"Buildings aren't trees you know; you're not supposed to climb them."

"But I did. You should try it sometime."

"Um, why is _he_ here?" Rayne finally asked.

"He's apparently been stalking us. Can't say it's a surprise," I remarked, shrugging.

"Ah, stalking is such a harsh term. I've merely been following your trail. Of course, if you go by the popular meaning, I guess I have been stalking Shrike..." Zack flashed a grin my way and I bristled.

"Oh, fuck off already. Just get to the point."

"Fine. As I told Shrike earlier, you guys are drawing a lot of attention and leaving a very clear trail behind you. I am not a member of CORE as you may have thought; I am a member of Daedalus, an underground organization with a mandate to root out those secrets that make this world tick and spread them to those who want to know. We have agents infiltrating all manners of secret organizations and secret sections of not so secret organizations. I was one of their agents assigned to CORE, but our encounter back in Petalburg proved disastrous and I had to bail out before I was caught. However, it wasn't just my assistance in helping you escape that brought all the unwanted attention down on me; there's actually no hard evidence to prove I did help you. Rather, I've been framed."

I was surprised at that. "Framed? By who?"

"Lord Fira himself, apparently. I'm sure you know all too well of what happened at Laboratory 13?" Seeing the confused look on our faces, Zack continued. "But of course not, you had no idea what happened, just that something did. Laboratory 13 was one of CORE's top research facilities. It was located on a small island somewhere northwest of Dewford, with most of its facilities extending underground. As with all CORE facilities, Lab 13 was powered by two separate power plants, an older one that predates Lord Fira's arrival using nuclear power, and a newer one similar to the one that Rayne shut down at Petalburg that uses Arcana Energy. Something disastrous happened to both of them at the same time, both power plants suffering catastrophic failures at the exact same time. Something important was happening then too, but I couldn't find out what other than that it involved another one of CORE's bioengineering experiments codenamed 'Thanatos' and Lord Fira himself was there to monitor it. The explosion you saw out at sea was the nuclear reactor exploding; the Arcanum reactor wouldn't create any visible effect except in the immediate area, where the massive energy it contained was probably enough to warp space-time itself around it. However, seeing as one of those things has never exploded before, no one really knows for sure what happened, and no one wants to send an investigation team to see."

"Oh, that. Yeah, it's kind of hard not to remember that with the whole falling into the ocean and then washing up on an island belonging to the Crimson Dawn," I said. "What's it have to do with you, though? And does that mean Lord Fira is dead?"

"Unfortunately, no. He somehow escaped, claiming that he received 'advanced warning.' Bullshit I say, no one could have predicted that. I seem to be the only one that finds it odd, though. Anyways, Lord Fira has now put me under investigation claiming that I sabotaged Lab 13. He must suspect my involvement at Petalburg and this is his way of rooting me out as a traitor. Personally, I think he was somehow behind it. How else would he have known it was going to happen at that specific time? I did manage to pull off some very minor sabotage before I left, though." Zack reached under his cloak and pulled out none other than a very hi-tech looking gun. It was bigger than a normal pistol; however he still seemed to be able to use it comfortable with one hand. It didn't appear to have a traditional slide, although the top portion of the gun which would normally be the slide was colored silver while the rest of the frame was black. Other than its large size and the lack of a separate slide it otherwise looked to be a normal gun.

"Gah! Careful where you point that!" I exclaimed as Zack waved it around carelessly.

"Oh, it's fine. I know how to handle a gun." Zack fortunately stopped waving it around, although the sheer fact he had it out at all kept me nervous.

"It doesn't look like it..." I muttered.

"Anyways, this is the fully functional prototype of a new weapon CORE has been developing. Stealing it will hopefully set them back a little, however above all I wanted something good to defend myself with. It's called the AWP Pistol, AWP standing for Arcanum Wave Pulse. As expected from the name, it's an energy-based weapon rather than projectile, firing bursts of modulated Arcana Energy. The shots it fires are capable of crippling someone with a single shot, no matter where it hits, by overloading the target's natural capacity to store Arcana Energy. It's important to realize that everyone has a level of Arcana Energy they can store inside themselves safely, usually referred to as their 'aura,' and that they need to have some amount of energy stored to continue living. Too much or too little stored can prove fatal. One shot will simply cripple the person, causing them to spasm uncontrollably as their body does its best to leak the excess Arcana Energy. Another shot on top of that will further overload them, and in most cases reach the upper fatal level. Of course, it all depends on the person's native ability to store Arcana Energy. Since most people these days have very little capability, two shots will be plenty, and in a few cases one just may be enough. However for actual channelers who are adept at channeling Arcana Energy, it may take a lot more to overload them enough to prove fatal." Zack glanced over at Rayne, and I knew he had her in mind when he said that.

"The energy it fires is stored in a magazine-like battery," Zack pressed a lever on the side of the gun and the battery popped out of the grip like a normal pistol, falling into his free hand, "which is charged gradually from the natural energy of the person using it. It can also be fired without the battery and directly from the person's energy, but that's risky and could easily drain them of all their energy, thus causing the opposite of the overload the gun causes in its targets. Arcana Energy is both needed and dangerous like that..."

I pretty much got it, but Aira seemed confused over Zack's long explanation. Rayne clarified it by saying, "In other words, it's best used by someone who has a decent capability to store and control Arcana Energy. While it can easily kill normal people it isn't so great against people such as myself." Rayne paused before continuing, "Is this all you came here for, to show us your new toy and reveal your true allegiance; if you're even telling the truth now, that is." Rayne seemed thoroughly unimpressed with Zack's revelations, although I personally found them fascinating.

"Don't worry, I'm not done yet. I'll get to this Night Raven business later, but there's one more thing I think you'd be interested in learning more about first; the Crimson Dawn. Now I'm no expert on them, I specialize on CORE and the basics of Arcana Energy, but I can always ask the other people I work with about various things. That's the very basis of Daedalus, open information sharing. Fortunately I did collect as much information about the Crimson Dawn as I could before I came here." Zack holstered his new gun underneath his cloak before continuing.

"The Crimson Dawn has existed in various forms for centuries, seeming to disappear and reappear in cycles of variable length, but there's usually around a forty to fifty year gap in between their appearances, and about five to ten years of activity before they disappear again. They have always been led by the person they call the High Chancellor, or more formally, The Blessed Light of the Occult. Whether each High Chancellor is different than the past one is unknown, however it'd be the only logical explanation. They follow a belief that Earth was originally created without Pokémon, with only normal animal and human life. The angel Zeruel, in his desire to make his own world filled with sin, is then said to have seeded Earth with Pokémon by creating one Mew from which all other Pokémon were born. He also granted Earth the fruit we today call Apricorns, which early Pokéballs stemmed from. It is the belief of the Crimson Dawn that this introduction of Pokémon to the world introduced violence and war to humans through the Pokémon battles that developed, and is thus the root of all sin. Much research has been done, but this belief seemed to be exclusive to the Crimson Dawn, and no other mention of it among other modern religions could be found."

"Yes, he told us that story when we met him... I remember that. It's not exactly a very sensible belief, and doesn't really make any sense..." Aira spoke up.

"You didn't tell me anything like that..." I frowned.

"Anyways, due to these beliefs, the Crimson Dawn has taken up a mandate to restore the world to its pure state by eradicating all Pokémon life. This is obviously such an unfeasible goal that the people who do know about them have for the most part ignored them. I do have to say that this cycle they certainly do seem to be acting a fair bit more violently than before, though. One of the sects within the Crimson Dawn is devoted to the covert assassination of specific targets, and quite a few recent news stories involving killing Pokémon certainly seem to match their style." This time Zack looked at Aira. "The Crimson Dawn is of the belief that if a physical link is created between them and the target, the fury of the gods will pass from them to the target and into its body through its wound and cause their soul to be banished to eternal hell. The primary weapon of the Crimson Dawn against Pokémon is thus bladed weapons, such as swords, as they allow that physical contact. Particularly, they favor gold swords that aren't forged, but materialized using Arcana Energy to allow them to be stronger than normal; they believe that gold further enhances the ability for the fury of the gods to pass on to the Pokémon. Their swords also serve as a sign of their member's ranks; higher ranking members will earn blades adorned with various runes and glyphs that are said to be the language of the angels while normal member's blades are unadorned. As for using swords in the first place... Well, cutting someone open with a sword is just all the more painful than hitting them with a mace or something, and more graceful than a heavy axe. To them, inflicting as much pain as possible is almost a game.

"Now, the Crimson Dawn rarely kills humans. In fact, killing humans without due cause is expressly prohibited, and probably the only reason you all are still alive. Due cause to them means pretty much any way that a person expresses allegiance with Pokémon over allegiance with the Crimson Dawn. If a person protects a Pokémon from the Crimson Dawn that is considered due cause to kill them. If a human orders a Pokémon to fight the Crimson Dawn or fights them themself, that's due cause as well. In those cases the Crimson Dawn will kill humans; however to avoid bringing the fury of the gods down on the human which they believe would occur if they used their sword against a human as well, they prefer to use other methods which do not cause a direct link between the two of them. In contrast to killing Pokémon, they also prefer for human deaths to be less painful. In modern times the preferred method of killing humans seems to be using a gun. This presents some problems though, as normal Crimson Dawn members do not carry guns. Only the elite members of that assassin sect I mentioned are explicitly trained in the use of guns and carry them, and such are traditionally the only members of the Crimson Dawn who kill humans as well as Pokémon."

"...It's them, it's definitely got to be them now... The meaning behind the separate dagger and gun, killing their Pokémon with the dagger but mom and dad with the gun..." Aira murmured, looking down.

"Ah yes, I've heard of what happened to your parents. From the descriptions involved it certainly does seem like it was a Crimson Dawn attack. Did you actually see it?" Zack asked.

I quickly shook my head back and forth, trying to stop Zack from changing to this topic. Fortunately, Zack was interrupted when there was a knock on the door, which I jumped up and walked over to get. Opening the door I found Nurse Bridget standing there, holding a tray with six circular indentations in it, three of the indentations occupied by Pokéballs. "Hello, Shrike. We've finished taking care of your Pokémon; they should be in prime condition again now."

I picked up each Pokéball in order, noticing a label taped to the tray next to each one that indicated which Pokémon was inside. I reattached them to my belt in my standard order with Zethro at the front, then Jehiel behind him and Ramiel last, nodding to Bridget. "Thank you, I was a little worried about Zethro after the beating he took during that battle against Noah..."

"Noah? Oh, so you had your gym battle? Wow, did you win?" Bridget asked, as if trainers at the Pokémon Center having gym battles was a new thing.

"Of course." I grinned and pulled the badge, still in its tiny plastic case, out of my pocket and flashed it at Bridget. _I'll need to remember to get a proper case sometime..._

"How cool, congratulations. Well, I need to get back to work now. Hopefully I'll see you later. Well, hopefully not because I need to treat your Pokémon, but..."

I laughed. "I get it. Don't worry, I'll try to keep them from getting hurt much more. See you later."

Bridget seemed to, for the first time, notice Zack standing in our room along with the other three of us. He had turned away and was looking out the window, so she couldn't clearly see who he was, though, and decided to ignore him. "I'll see you later too, then." She turned and walked back off down the hallway as I closed the door behind her.

"You're too proud of that thing..." Rayne muttered as I walked over to my backpack and dropped my badge into one of its side pockets.

"So, who was that?" Zack asked, turning back around. "A friend of yours?"

"Yeah, she's a nurse who works here," I answered.

"Oh, a nurse? Just what kind of friend is she?" Zack dug deeper.

"A friend. A normal friend. That's it." I narrowed my eyes, knowing where this was going.

"Oh, good. Wouldn't want you to be taken or anything."

I nearly punched Zack. In fact, I was so close to it that I had already walked over to him and clenched my hand into a fist before I regained control over myself. "Can you please fucking stop that?" I sighed.

"Sorry, sorry. I have to take a chance when I see one, part of my nature." Zack shrugged as he backed away from me, a slight smile on his lips.

"Are you even serious with all of this hitting on me, or is it just an act like the whole CORE thing?" I asked, exasperated. I had been wondering about that since he told me about his true allegiance earlier that day and that being part of CORE was just an act.

"Wouldn't be very fun to tell you that now, would it? For now, we should focus on the matter at hand; maybe sometime later there will be a better time to talk about personal stuff. Now, where was I...?"

I sighed, wondering if he ever planned on telling me an answer. "You just went over the whole thing with the Crimson Dawn rarely killing humans..."

"Oh, yeah. Well, I think I've pretty much covered almost everything that you need to know for now. Let's see...well, as I mentioned there are various sects within the Crimson Dawn, each of which serves its own purpose in the grand scheme of the cult, each sect being led by one leader. Above the sects in the command hierarchy is a relatively secret organization called the Five Divines composed of, surprise, five people. Only the sect leaders can speak to the Five Divines, and even they don't know who they actually are. The Five Divines seem to be closely associated with the High Chancellor himself, and seem to serve as a middle party between the sects and the High Chancellor. Other than that and that they answer directly to the High Chancellor I couldn't find out much more about them. They could be secret members of the sects who serve a double life in both the sects and the Five Divines, or they could be completely separate from the rest of the workings of the Crimson Dawn. I suppose it doesn't really matter though, as for the immediate future it looks like CORE's your biggest threat again. That's why I'm here, so that I could get to you before they do."

"So CORE is looking for us again? Seriously, what did we ever do to them in the first place to justify being kidnapped back in Petalburg...?" I said, not really expecting an answer. Zack, however, had one anyways.

"That's easy, you guys have something which Lord Fira himself personally wants. Don't ask me what, I just know that the moment I reported meeting you guys to him that he ordered me to bring you to the base. He didn't elaborate any more than that, but he obviously has some personal reason to kidnap all of you, or at least you and Rayne. Aira being picked up by the AEWG prototype was just, in the end, a rather convenient coincidence."

"So if CORE is after us, what exactly do you propose to do to help us?" Rayne asked.

"I'll show you, and it ties into your little visit to the Night Ravens tonight. However, it's not here; you'll have to follow me back to my cave," Zack said.

I almost fell over, but managed to just sigh. "You're living in a cave again...? Can't you get a hotel room or something like a normal person?" Zack's great love for living far differently than a normal person was getting a little odd.

"Ah, but caves are free, seem to be everywhere if you just look, are outside of cities rather than in them, and allow me to feel like I'm part of nature. Come on, I'll show you the way." Zack walked out onto the balcony and vaulted over the railing to the beach below, which fortunately was empty of people due to this being the time of year when people began to stop going to beaches.

"Hey, can't you walk down there like a normal person!" I yelled after him as I ran out onto the balcony. Behind me Rayne recalled both Matariel and Oriel who had both been out this entire time and followed behind me along with Aira. I looked down over the railing and saw Zack standing on the sand, looking up at me from about fifteen feet below._How could he survive that...?_

"Oh, you'll never built up your leg strength and learn to manage your falls if you don't take drops like this. If you seriously don't want to drop down all the way, use that rock as a stepping stone of sorts." Zack pointed to a tall rock partially beneath our balcony that jutted out of the cliff the Pokémon Center was built on top of. While it was mostly underneath our balcony, part of it was exposed to the side and it looked like I could drop onto it and then to the ground from there.

"I...think I'll take the long way," Aira said as she walked up beside me and looked down. "Don't forget to wait for me, okay?" She turned around and went running out of the room and into the Pokémon Center's hallway, like any sane person would.

"Fine... I'll try it..." I muttered. I grabbed onto the rail that faced the rock and jumped over it, swinging my legs over and letting go as I dropped down to the rock about six feet below, trying not to think of what I was doing. I fell onto the rock and let my legs absorb the shock before standing up again. All seemed fine until my left foot suddenly slipped on a wet patch on the rock, causing me to lose my balance and fall off the rock in a completely uncontrolled manner. Fortunately I was able to push myself away from it as I fell so that I wouldn't hit my head or anything against it. Nonetheless, I ended up falling face first into the sand, Zack walking over to me.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine. I'm a natural at falling and crashing into things..." I picked myself up and brushed sand off of me. I wasn't really hurt that bad, unlike the inevitable if I had been to try to jump all the way down from the balcony. _At least Zethro wasn't out this time..._

Next to me Rayne dropped down, her arms spread out and legs bending under her as she much more gracefully landed, having taken the more direct route. "Let's get going." She said, turning to look at Aira who was running down a set of stairs carved into the cliff. _The sane way of getting down, but what's sane about my life anymore?  
_

* * *

"Welcome to my abode!" Zack exclaimed, spreading his arms wide as we emerged from the trees to find the entrance to a small cave not that unlike his old one.

"It's a _cave_. Where does the abode part come in?" I was more than a little bit tired of Zack's quirkiness.

"Well, I'm living here for the moment. I think that's more than enough justification. Anyways, come on in." Zack beckoned as he ducked into the cave, which seemed to be recessed into the ground slightly.

I walked over and ducked down to enter the cave, dropping down about a foot to the recessed floor. This cave wasn't all that different from Zack's last; it was moderately deep and wide enough to comfortably house a couple people. I noticed that it was more sparsely decorated though, likely because he hadn't been here as long as in Petalburg. All there was was a sleeping bag, a small fire pit, a large backpack, and a brown tarp covering something at the very back of the cave. I looked at it for a moment, remembering noticing it back in his Petalburg cave. Rayne and Aira dropped down next to me, looking around just like I had. Rayne let out a grunt and dropped down onto the ledge at the entrance to the cave where the ground dropped down, while Aira remained standing.

Zack pulled his cloak off and threw it aside, revealing a plain white shirt and brown pants underneath. He bent down next to his backpack and pulled out a circular metal grille, folding out three metal legs and setting it on the ground as he further dug out a large pot, some instant ramen packets, and a large jug of water. As he began trying to light the fire I spoke up "Hey, Zack. What's that?" I asked, pointing to the tarp. "I noticed you had it last time too..."

Zack had gotten the fire started and set the grille over the fire. He glanced back at the tarp before returning to what he was doing, placing the pot on the metal grille and filling it with water from the jug. "I'll show you in a minute. Let me just get the ramen started first, I couldn't stand having people over and not having anything to feed them. Is ramen fine with you two?" Zack looked up at Rayne and Aira, who both looked like they didn't know what to make of this.

"Whatever, so long as we get started soon," Rayne said.

"I love ramen, thank you." Aira smiled and nodded as she leaned against the cave wall.

"Good. It's all I really ever have..." Zack ripped open the ramen packets and picked out the smaller flavor packets inside, dumping the bricks of noodles into the pot of water and setting the flavor packets aside. Standing up he walked over to the tarp-covered object, I following him. "So, I'm guessing you remember this from last time? Well, it's one of the things I wanted to show you."

Zack bent down and picked up a corner of the tarp, pulling it off. Revealed beneath were several things; however the most prominent was what appeared to be a large, antique radio. Dials and displays filled the surface of the wood-paneled device, speakers set into either end of it and a microphone connected to it by a coiled wire. Along with the radio there was a metal briefcase and a bunch of other small device scattered about that I couldn't quite grasp the purpose of. "That is some old radio... Dig it up from someone's grave or something?" I asked

"Tch, it may be old, but it's not to be underestimated. Because it's so old no one bothers to monitors the frequencies these radios broadcast in, so communication across them is pretty much entirely private. As such, they make perfect means for Daedalus operatives to communicate with," Zack explained.

"If it's just the outdated frequencies you care for, why not modify more modern radios to broadcast in them?"

"Well...a lot of us do do that... I guess I just like this old technology, makes me appreciate all the new technology we have more when I have to think of what people in the past had to use."

"...And what you are needlessly forcing yourself to use."

Zack seemed a little annoyed at how I was insulting his radio and glanced back at the ramen pot. "Oh look at that, I think the ramen may be about ready," he said, quickly changing subjects.

I glowered weakly at Zack as he turned away to attend to the ramen, pulling out a ladle and stirring the pot filled with water and noodles. Tearing open the flavor packets he dumped them into the pot and mixed it around some more, before producing four metal bowls and dishing the ramen out into them. I walked over and took mine from him along with a spoon he also seemed to magically produce out of nowhere. Aira walked over and took hers too, but when it became evident that Rayne didn't plan to budge I walked hers over to her.

"So, while I don't intend to go with you into the Night Raven's hangout, I will stay back here and use the radio to communicate with you. Before I came here I dug up blueprints of the building they meet in, so I can guide you all around if you get lost in it," Zack said as we began eating. "I'll also be in contact with other Daedalus operatives at the same time, so if anything pops up I can let you know."

"Why would we get lost if they just want to meet with us?" Aira asked.

"We don't know if that's all they want. All we know is that they're looking for us. For all we know, they're looking for us so that they can kill us," Rayne answered between slurping up noodles. For seeming to be the one most begrudging about the ramen, she was eating hers awfully fast.

"Harsh but true. I find it hard to believe that a gang like this would just want a peaceful meeting," Zack said.

Getting back to the main point I questioned Zack further. "You said you plan to use the radio to communicate with us, so I assume you have radios to give us or something?" I asked.

"Even better." Zack set down his ramen and pulled a small metal canister out of his pocket, popping it open. From inside of it he rolled out three small and very familiar looking devices.

"Hey, aren't those the Pokécom things like me and Aira have?" I asked, noting their similarity to the device I had stuck in my ear and which, surprisingly, I didn't really feel any more.

"Yes, but they're a little, well, a lot different. For one, these have a radio packed into them as well. Amazing really, how technology has gotten to the point where two entirely separate devices can be built into one pea-sized object small enough to fit in your ear... Surely puts my radio to shame." Zack grinned as he rolled the Pokécoms around in his palm before sliding them back into the canister and snapping it shut. "But also...you want to know how you've been able to be found so easy?"

"It would sure be nice... I'd prefer not to have any surprises like back in Petalburg again..." I said.

Zack grinned slyly. "The Pokécoms both you and Aira wear contain a radio transmitter that has been broadcasting your location to all who know the correct frequency from the moment you put them in your ears."

My eyes snapped open wide and I almost dropped my ramen, managing to set it down properly before sticking my pinkie finger in my ear to try and dig the Pokécom out. "What! I want this damn thing out of my ear this moment!" I yelled, trying unsuccessfully to get a hold on the tiny device.

"Oy, you'll just push it in further like that. Come here." Zack pulled a pair of tweezers out of a slot on the other end of the canister, holding them up into the air. I quickly walked over to him and turned the ear with the Pokécom in it towards Zack so that he could reach in and pull it out using the tweezers. I rubbed my now vacant ear, wondering how I hadn't felt the device in there all this time. _Hmm, but without it I can't understand anything my Pokémon say..._ "Here, hold still now so I can put the new one in," Zack said, opening the canister again and pulling out just one of the new Pokécoms. Zack grabbed my head with one hand as he pushed the new Pokécom in with the other, and I felt the seeming hole in my ear fill again.

"That new one is exactly like your old one, except it's had the transmitter replaced with the radio which has been pre-programmed to operate on a secure Daedalus frequency. It and any others within ten feet can be recalibrated to new frequencies using this remote. Take it, it does me no good." Zack pulled a small, flat remote from his pocket and handed it to me. I looked over its face, which was relatively simple with just a standard number pad and an enter button. "The only difference you'll notice is that when you first hear Pokémon speech again, it'll take a moment for it to calibrate like last time."

"Thanks, this makes me feel a lot better knowing that CORE will no longer be able to track us..." I sighed, sliding the remote into my pocket and returning to my noodles.

"Yeah, but of course it means I won't be able to track you with it either. Too bad, I guess. Come over here Aira so I can replace yours too; nice idea stealing one from the Petalburg base, but all of the models CORE makes have the transmitter so they can keep track on their own employees as well."

Aira walked over and Zack pulled hers out too, setting it next to mine on the ground. "This feels sort of weird having it taken out; I was so used to it and couldn't even feel it..." Aira said, voicing my thoughts.

"Yeah, they're designed with a coating of a weak numbing agent that is just strong enough to make the person not feel it, in the hopes that a person wearing one can keep it in for almost forever. Of course, I'm sure there are some health side-effects of keeping it in all the time..." Zack inserted a new Pokécom into Aira's ear, and she got up and walked back to her ramen. "Now Rayne, I have one for you too."

"I don't need one. I can already understand Pokémon." Rayne flatly said, continuing to eagerly slurp her ramen.

"Yeah yeah, so I hear. It's not a completely unheard of talent; some theories attribute it to an abnormally large capability to store and channel Arcana Energy. However, you can still at least make use of the radio in it, and can remove it afterwards if you want."

Rayne grumbled but remained silent, but at the same time didn't move. Zack sighed, starting to realize how difficult it could be to work with Rayne. Grudgingly he got up and walked over to her, strongly grabbing her head and forcing the Pokécom into her ear right as she slurped up more of her ramen, splashing Zack in the face with broth.

So as to avoid anything breaking out between them, I quickly spoke to fill the silence. "You said that all the ones CORE makes have the transmitter, so who made these?"

Zack went back to his seat next to the fire as Rayne continued slurping up her ramen indifferently. "Well, CORE still originally made them. However, I sent a few samples to Daedalus and they modified them to their current form. It was simple enough really, all they had to do was replace the circuitry for broadcasting the radio signal with a normal radio; it already had a suitable antenna and everything."

"Interesting. Is it just a radio receiver, or can it transmit too?" I further asked.

"Ah, good question. I was just about to get to that. Yes, they can transmit, and quite well. To activate the transmitter you'll need these," Zack pulled out three more very small remotes. They could hardly be called remotes, being just a very small square of plastic about an inch square with a single, flat button on it. "Press once to activate, press again to deactivate. They only have a range of about five feet and are universal in that any remote will activate any of the transmitters so be careful when you're next to each other; don't want someone else's activated accidentally. I advice to keep them in your pockets; they shouldn't get accidentally pressed, and you can activate the transmitter easily that way."

I took one of them as Zack handed them out to us, having to throw the last one to Rayne. I slid it into my pocket, deeper than the other remote to program the channel, and felt it through my pants before tentatively pressing it once.

_"Activated"_ an electronic voice spoke in my ear. Quickly I pressed the button again. _"Deactivated"_ The same voice spoke.

"Audio cues..." I murmured.

"Yeah, it's to help alleviate confusion as to whether it's on or off. Anyways that settles communication. I have a few more gifts I think you might appreciate..." Zack finished the last of his ramen, and I couldn't help but wonder when he had actually eaten it with all the talking he had been doing. Standing up he walked back to the treasure trove at the back of the cave, picking up something which I couldn't see from where I sat. Turning around Zack walked back and held it out to me. "Shrike, this is for you."

In Zack's hand rested a sheathed dagger. It wasn't that long, but not that short either. Judging from the length of the sheath, the blade was about five inches long while the leather-wrapped handle was four inches. The crossguard was a simple, flat oval, matching the simple design of the sheath, just some black leather with a ring of silver trim around the opening for the blade and on the tip. Using both hands I took the sheath in one and the handle of the dagger in the other, pulling the dagger out as I took it. The double-edged blade ran straight for a while before the two edges curved slightly and tapered into a point. Right down the middle of the blade on both sides there was a thin, slightly recessed line, the blade to either side of the line sloping downwards as it came to an edge. I was relieved that the blade was a normal silver color, and not gold.

"It's nice, where'd you get it? Why are you giving it to me?" I asked as I looked over the dagger more.

"I pick up lots of things as I travel, that dagger being one of them. Can't recall exactly where it came from, but whatever the case I have no need for it. I don't think you're much of a fighter yourself and you didn't seem too enthused about using a gun back in Petalburg, so I thought I'd give you an edge, so to speak."

A part of me died at the pun and I slid the dagger back into its sheath, snapping a flap of leather down over the crossguard to secure the dagger so that it wouldn't fall out. I noticed some belt hooks on the other side and tried clipping it onto the back of my belt with the handle facing to my right, finding that it fit pretty securely. "I'll forgive you for that pun just because it's so nice. I like it better than a gun, but I still don't think you should plan on me going around killing people with it. It's strictly for emergencies." I let my jacket fall down over the dagger, finding that it was concealed rather well. I still wouldn't want to walk around in public with it, though.

"I hope someone trying to kill you counts as an emergency, then. Moving on, sorry Aira, I don't have anything for you. Hope you don't mind."

"That's fine, I don't really like fighting anyways..." Aira said.

"Well good, although I hope you don't plan on being able to avoid it completely. Rayne, though; I've got a little gift for you too."

"I already have a knife." Rayne reached into her back pocket and whipped out a switchblade. I tilted my head, recognizing it as being the same switchblade she had picked up from Ramirez all the way back at the Pokémon Academy. _She's been holding onto that ever since?_

Zack picked up the briefcase I had noticed earlier and carried it over, sliding it over to Rayne. She slid her switchblade back into her pocket and popped open the latches of the briefcase, her eyes widening as she looked inside it.

"But...do you have a gun of your own?" Zack asked slyly. 

* * *

**Rayne**

I stared at the contents of the briefcase, my eyes wide. In the bottom half was nested an all black, polymer frame gun in a bed of hard foam-like material. Also nestled in the foam were three full magazines, the hollow point tip of the bullets visible at the top of each magazine. The top half of the suitcase was covered by a web of elastic bands, behind which several more boxes of bullets were held. The boxes of bullets clearly displayed that they were the fairly standard nine millimeter caliber.

"So, you like it? It was actually mine, but with the AWP, I figure I don't need that anymore. I know of the aptitude you displayed for guns back in Petalburg, and figured this would nicely complement your developing Arcanum abilities," Zack said. I heard him, but it was like his voice was quiet and far away. All I could do was stare at the gun in the case before me.

_My gun... Mine..._

I felt myself falling, but all around me seemed to turn white, as if I had fallen into a pool of infinite white. Before I could think anymore about it, the white suddenly dissolved and what seemed like reality formed before me.

I was in some sort of large chamber with a domed ceiling and no defined walls, just the ceiling which came down to meet the floor. The floor and ceiling were made of some sort of smooth, black stone, red veins forming intricate but ultimately senseless patterns throughout the stone. All light come from a circular lamp hanging from the apex of the dome, the light from the lamp seeming much smoother and natural than the artificial light put out by normal lamps. Other than the lamp there was a single door into the room, but other than those the room was featureless.

I was standing in the room alone, but not for long. Not long after I appeared the doors swung open and two figures walked through. One was a lot taller than the other, while the other was quite short. I was able to identify both of them as girls as they approached. They both wore black, hooded robes not that different from the ones the CORE soldiers who had kidnapped us had worn, or the Crimson Dawn's either except for color. Differentiating these robes from CORE's was the red stitching these robes had. Nonetheless, the robes reminded me greatly of CORE and the Crimson Dawn.

The two girls didn't seem to be able to see me, and as I looked at the younger girl I knew why. Her long black hair which flew loose behind her and her black robe trailed along the ground, her recognizable face flat and emotionless. She didn't bare much resemblance to my current self, but I still recognized her as being me nonetheless. _This must be another one of my memories... A lot more vivid than the others though..._

I stepped aside as they walked through where I had been standing, though I figured I wouldn't get in their way anyways. I turned and walked to catch up with them, sizing up the older woman as she walked.

She too wore a black robe, but her hair was blonde and neatly tied into a ponytail. I ran in front of her and looked at her from the front, staring at her piercing blue eyes. Her entire face seemed hardened and fixated on whatever it was she and my younger self were doing. The two of them suddenly stopped and the older woman spoke.

"Rayne, this will be your final test. You haven't been with us long, but you've shown remarkable progress and aptitude. Pass this test, and I can ensure that you will go on to great things." Her voice was stern, yet kind.

"Thank you for your training, miss Hunter," my younger self said. "You have taught me so much."

"You have your weapon?" the woman, Hunter apparently, asked, ignoring the praise.

"Yes, ma'am." My younger self reached into her robe and pulled out a small, compact gun. While it was compact, it looked like it fit my younger self perfectly.

"Then let's begin."

Air started to swirl around the room, whipping around the two girls' hair and robes. On the ground around Hunter some sort of symbol appeared; it looked like a pentagram circumscribed within a circle, composed of brown energy. The pentagram made of brown energy rotated, picking up speed until it was no longer distinguishable. "Spirits of the earth, lend me your control over the forces that bind this world," Hunter calmly chanted. The wind grew more intense and along the walls the red veins seem to glow. "Release your hold; bring unto me the power of Terra!" There was one more intense blast of wind before it suddenly died down and the energy whirling around Hunter's feet broke apart and dissipated, rippling throughout the entire cavern as the energy seemed to permeate into the floor and ceiling.

"Rayne, prepare yourself. I will give no further warning as to your targets." Hunter said as she held out her hand, which seemed to glow with a slight brown aura.

A chunk of rock suddenly broke out of the ground, floating up into the air. I glanced over at Hunter and saw that her fingers were twitching slightly; I had a good feeling she was the one controlling the rock. _That spell or whatever must have given her the ability to control the rock this cavern is made of..._

As soon as the rock floated up out of the ground, there was a loud bang as my younger self fired a shot at it. The rock shattered and its pieces fell to the ground, no longer under Hunter's control. As soon as that rock was destroyed, another dropped down from the ceiling, as if it was breaking free of the bonds that had held it there. It didn't fall to the ground though, content to float in midair. It didn't last long as just like the first my younger self destroyed it in one shot. Next came two rocks from opposite sides of the cavern, however even then I was fast in acquiring and switching targets. I watched as the targets I had to shoot got progressively more intense, until countless rocks were zipping all around the room at various speeds, leaving only a small circle Hunter and my younger self stood in clear. It was impossible to shoot them all before new ones were added, but the younger me was doing a good job at keeping them under control, even with the reloading she had to do every seven shots.

"That is enough."

All the remaining rocks dropped to the ground and shattered, leaving the floor and ceiling of the chamber scared and pitted with the several spots the floating rocks had emerged from. "Spirits of the earth, I return to thee your power. I release my hold on the power of Terra; return to your rightful master," Hunter quietly said as the wave of energy that had come from the symbol below Hunter's feet raced back from the edges of the cavern, reforming into the spinning mass of energy beneath Hunter's feet. It quickly slowed down, returning to the pentagram shape before fading away completely.

"Are you pleased, ma'am?" my young self asked.

"You did an admirable job. Even when the odds were impossible you kept going. You didn't miss a single shot, and on top of that you're the fastest shot I've seen in years. You pass with honor, my student. But of course, I suppose you're no longer a student."

Younger me ejected the magazine from her pistol and racked its slide, a bullet falling to the ground. To Hunter she held out the gun in one hand and the magazine in her other. "Thank you. If I'm no longer a student that means you can take this back now."

Hunter smiled as she looked down at the younger me and the compact pistol in her outstretched hand. "No, this time I'd like for you to keep that gun. It's a good gun, and it will serve you will in the years you have ahead. Keep it and walk with pride, Rayne. That gun is yours now, a memento of your training with me."

The younger me drew her arm back and looked down at the gun, seeming stunned. "I don't have anything else that is mine... All I had was my ring, but that was taken from me..."

"Then let this gun be your first possession of your own. Don't forget the significance of it." Hunter placed a hand on Rayne's shoulder before turning to walk away.

"I won't... Ever." Younger me quietly said, before the cavern turned white again and I was once again floating in that endless sea of white.

* * *

**Shrike**

As Rayne looked at the gun, I noticed her eyes start to close and jumped up as she suddenly slumped forwards, unconscious. "Rayne!" I yelled, walking over to her and lifting her back up from where she had been sprawled over the briefcase. I laid her down on the ground in the cave's opening, on the ledge she had been sitting on. Other than her mysteriously fainting, she seemed perfectly fine.

"What's that?" Aira asked as she walked over next to me, pointing at the ring Rayne wore on a chain around her neck.

"It's just a...huh?" I picked up the ring and rested it in my palm, staring at the blue stone set into it, which from the inside was glowing with a bright blue. "I've...never seen that before.

"Let me see that ring," Zack said as he walked over to my other side. I placed the ring in his palm and he looked it over carefully, being careful not to tug too hard since it was still on the chain around Rayne's neck.

"Do you know anything about it?" I asked.

Zack looked over the ring some more, but his focus seemed to be on the stone. His eyes narrowed as he looked at it, but he shook his head. "No, this is new to me. I'm going to have to ask my associates about it." Zack set the ring back down on Rayne's chest.

"Do you think she will be all right?" Aira asked.

Before either Zack or I could respond, Rayne's eyes suddenly snapped open. Sluggishly she sat back up, as if she had just woken from a deep sleep. I noticed the stone on her ring stopped glowing the moment she opened her eyes, and I cocked my head, wondering what it meant.

"I'm fine," Rayne said. "I...experienced another memory. It was more vivid than in the past, and I could tell it was very important to me..."

"Memory?" Zack asked

"She's been having these resurgences of memory the past few days, seems like something is causing her amnesia to gradually go away," I explained. "What was this one about?"

Rayne paused before answering. "I was...training. It seemed to be some sort of test, to see how well I could use a gun. The woman who gave the test, I called her Hunter, and she seemed to be my teacher. She was able to manipulate Arcana Energy quite well, and created targets out of the rock the cavern we were in was composed of. I passed, and she gave me the gun I had been training with. That's it."

"I see, getting your own gun for a second time must have awakened the memory of when you first got one," Zack said.

"Do you know when that was? Was there anything to indicate when or where it took place?" I asked, eager to find out more about why Rayne was the person she was now.

"...No. I couldn't tell when it took place," Rayne flatly said. I had the feeling she wasn't telling me the whole truth, although I didn't pry further.

To move away from the subject of her recovering memory, Rayne bent down and picked up the gun from the briefcase. On the side of the slide were engraved the manufacturer and model of the gun, this one was apparently a fairly old HK USP Compact chambered for nine-millimeter rounds. Rayne then picked up one of the thirteen round magazines and slid it into the base of the gun, feeling its fully loaded weight. "I like it. The weight and size are perfect for me." She ejected the magazine and racked the gun's slide to eject any bullet that may have been in it, although since she hadn't racked it with the magazine loaded nothing came out.

"Good, it may be close to an antique—although not as much as my radio—but it's served me well," Zack said

Rayne picked up a holster that had been lying beneath the gun and clipped it to the back of her waistband much as I had with my dagger. "It's getting late, we should go visit the Night Ravens soon," Rayne said, checking each of the three magazines to ensure they were full.

"Okay then, here's my plan for that," Zack spoke up. "Rayne, you're the best fighter of your group so you'll go in first. Be sure to activate your radio so that we can all hear what's going on. Shrike and Aira will stay behind, but if you get in trouble, they'll go in to assist you, using largely their Pokémon to fight, although Shrike can use his new dagger in a pinch if needed. You looked pretty comfortable with it, right Shrike?"

"Yeah, I...have experience. Of sorts." I thought back to my days of pretend sword fighting, wondering if that really counted.

"Good. Hopefully you won't need to kill anyone, but if they attack you..."

"If they attack me I won't need either of their help," Rayne said, snapping a magazine back into her new pistol and racking the slide, arming the gun. Making sure the safety was on she slid it into the holster behind her back, clasping it in so it wouldn't fall out.

I sighed and shook my head, but Zack just shrugged. "We'll see. Overconfidence can bite you back, keep that in mind," he said.

Rayne stuffed the other two magazines in her pockets and stood up, crossing her arms across her chest. "You said you know where they're located? Take us there. I want to get this over with."

"Oy, I was thinking we should stop at your place first to drop that off," Zack nodded towards the case he had given Rayne her gun in, and which was filled with extra ammunition for it.

"We can come back for it after we're done. Let's go." Rayne turned around and stepped out of the cave, walking away despite not knowing where to go.

Zack glanced at me and I shrugged. "She gets like this at times."

Zack pulled his cloak back on. "I'll lead you there, then return here so I can give you radio support and advice." He glanced down at the old Pokécoms lying on the ground and crushed them beneath his feet before rushing out of the cave.

Aira smiled at me and together we followed Zack as he ran ahead to catch up with Rayne, I at least hoping that nothing bad would happen tonight.

_Yeah right, when has anything ever gone well for us?_

**End of Chapter 25**_  
_


	26. Chapter 26

_Author's Note: Third and last of this large update chunk. Back to normal sized chapters, and plenty of action. Now, I'll try to slack off like this again..._

* * *

**Chapter 26**

**Shrike**

"Is this seriously the right place?" Rayne asked

"Yeah, this is it," Zack responded.

The four of us had just walked around the corner of a building and onto a street which further down ended in front of a wide and squat building which looked like a small warehouse with some offices attached to it. Rayne sighed and shook her head, her hair—hanging down straight as she wore it more often now—swishing to either side. "Why is this all so cliché...?" she mumbled.

"Well, where else would you prefer it to be? A furniture store?" Zack asked sarcastically.

"If it was, maybe we could get some sleep. I'm tired..." I yawned, stretching my arms out.

"Oh, whatever. Their leader supposedly keeps to himself in the actual warehouse part of the building, however the doors leading directly there from the outside have been welded shut, so you'll need to go through the office portion. Just bunker down here while I make my way back."

"If you say so, commander." Looking around I tried to find a good spot to wait in. We were currently hidden in darkness; however lights in front of the building lit up the street for about 20 meters in front of it, leaving only five meters from where we stood to the edge of the light. I noticed a dumpster positioned on the edge of the shadows and light and dropped down on the ground behind it, Aira walking over and sitting against the cement wall the dumpster was up against.

As Rayne pulled out her pistol and got closer to the warehouse by scurrying along the minimal shadows pressed up against the surrounding buildings where the warehouse lights couldn't touch, Zack shook his head and turned around. "I no longer have any sort of rank other than 'agent'"

"Well, you're sure acting like you're still in some sort of command now," I said.

"I call it giving advice. I'm going back now." Zack set off running back down the way we had come, leaving the three of us behind.

"Well, I'm sure this will prove to be interesting..." I muttered.

"I hope there won't be much fighting..." Aira frowned as she thought over what she and I would have to do if fighting did break out inside.

"We'll have no choice if there is. We can't leave Rayne to fight all by herself against who knows how many people. Like it or not, we'll have to aid her if it comes to that." I wasn't exactly ecstatic about the prospect of fighting either, instinctively reaching behind me and fingering the dagger Zack had given me as the thought of what I may have to do with it crossed my mind. The knife seemed so...foreign. So wrong. Giving a sigh I slid down the dumpster further, my hand dropping away from the dagger and idly reaching out and falling on Aira's.

Startled, Aira glanced over at me, however I had lost myself in thoughts of Zack and our prior encounters, wondering what it all meant in light of our current situation. Smiling to herself, Aira leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes.

* * *

**Rayne**

_"I'm ready."_

My eyes snapped open at the voice. I had moved up into position right next to the front door to the office portion of the warehouse, gripping my pistol in two hands as I waited for the go ahead. Flipping the safety off on the pistol I then racked the slide, before pressing on the remote in my pocket to activate the radio transmitter so as to keep in contact with Zack the entire time. "So am I," I said.

_"Try to refrain from running in shooting, will you? Wait to shoot until you see if they're hostile towards you or not."_

"Whether I shoot or not will depend on whether they point a gun at me. I'm going in." As soon as I had spoken I spun around and whipped open the door, which was fortunately unlocked. The pistol held out before me at eye level I slowly walked into the room, taking it slow so that I didn't run into any guns. The first room was empty except for a single dust-covered couch in the middle of the room, a few doors leading off of it. As I walked further in the door across from the front swung open, causing me to instinctively dive behind the couch as I held the pistol out over it, pointing at the newly opened door.

"How about a deal; you don't shoot us, we won't shoot you," one of the persons who had entered the room said.

"How will I trust you?" I responded.

"You won't. But our leader wants to see you alive, you killing us or we killing you won't do anyone any good."

"You know who I am then?"

"Rayne Jarxis, graduate student from the Rustboro Pokémon Academy. Survivor of the Petalburg terrorist attack, and of a ferry which went missing in transit between Petalburg and this island. Friend and travel companion of a Shrike Flamestar who is also from RPA and survivor of both incidents, and also friend and travel companion of an Aira Kaza who is again survivor of both but from the Petalburg Pokémon Academy instead. You three are building up a large repertoire; adding 'killed by street gang thugs' wouldn't look very good for you, and we agree."

_Terrorist attack? Is that what they're calling it now? Guess these people don't know much if anything about CORE..._ Cautiously I stood up, keeping my pistol held out towards the door at all times. As I stood I found that two people, a guy and a girl, had come into the room, both with their hands in the air in a gesture of peace. Both were dressed similarly in typical goth fashion with pale skin, long hair, and black clothes; no weapons visible on either of them. _If they truly want me alive, they wouldn't be carrying normal guns anyway..._ Slowly I lowered my pistol, until it finally rested at my side. "Fine then, I'll play your game. Take me to your leader," I said sarcastically.

The guy, the one who had been speaking, nodded and turned around. "This way."

I noticed as I followed him that the girl waited to follow behind me, pinning me between the two. If I tried to do anything to one of them, the other could easily knock me out by hand or with some other concealed weapon. _From the looks of it, they seriously don't know anything about me or what's going on behind the scenes... This leader is either keeping information from them, or is really stupid.  
_

* * *

**Shrike**

It had been about five minutes since Rayne had gone into the warehouse. Because she had left her radio on we had all been able to hear at least part of the conversion she had had with the Night Ravens. The radio wasn't strong enough to pick up the voices of other people, and because she wasn't really focusing on talking into the radio hers was kind of quiet as well. Still, the fact that she was safe for the time being was able to be worked out. Meanwhile, Aira and I had released all of our Pokémon in preparation of needing to head into the warehouse, but I had been a little distracted with my thoughts elsewhere.

Stiffly I stood up and walked a little ways away from the dumpster to get away from Aira and the Pokémon, gesturing for them to stay put. Looking up, Aira watched me as I paced back and forth for a moment, before pushing the remote in my pocket.

"Hey, Zack? Since not much is going on now, I...have something I want to ask while I have the chance."

_"Shoot, I'm as bored as you are."_

"You know those Pokémon you had before? A Mightyena, Grovyle, and a Swellow I believe. Are they CORE's Pokémon, or were they yours?" I asked. Aira, able to hear both sides of the conversation since we were all on the same frequency, looked confused—probably because she hadn't been around for any of the times when I had met Zack before.

Zack took a long pause before he replied, and I could hear him breathing heavily over the radio. _"They...were mine. I didn't lie completely when I met you; I used to be a Pokémon Trainer. The Grovyle, he was my starting Pokémon, and the other two were the only other ones I ever caught before deciding to join Daedalus. I had my contacts get them into CORE's possession before I joined with them, and arranged it so that they were the Pokémon I was assigned. At first things were well, but then Lord Fira instituted that every single Pokémon in CORE's possession except for the test subjects and guinea pigs undergo that treatment I mentioned before, the one which breaks their spirit so completely that it basically turns them into soulless shells, mindlessly obedient to their master. I tried to get my Pokémon out of CORE's reach before it was too late, but somehow I was lied to. I was fed false information on when my Pokémon's turn would be coming up, and before I could get them out they were taken from me. I couldn't resist, it'd blow my cover and I would have had no hope to escape alive. All I could do was watch as my Pokémon were broken so completely that they lost any shred of their own being. The same procedure, might I add, that Oriel would have gone through had Rayne not rescued her in time. To this day, I've wondered if I should have chanced breaking my cover..."_

Aira shifted about uncomfortable as she heard it all, but she didn't even know what it all meant. I was mortified, meanwhile; barely able to think of what to say, my entire body shaking with rage towards CORE. "I'm...so sorry. I shouldn't have asked, I—"

_"Cool it; you have a right to know. It's time for me to start coming clean with you; the lies, even the ones unspoken, can't continue. That part of me is dead now."_

"I see. Well—"

_"Wait, I'm picking up something..."  
_

* * *

**Rayne**

_So that's what they were about to do with Oriel? My Gods, those bastards..._ I thought, my mind on what Zack had said about Oriel when his tone suddenly changed, drawing me out of my thoughts.

_"There's some unencrypted radio traffic that I'm picking up near Rayne's position, I'm patching it through to you all."_

Almost as soon as Zack spoke, I noticed that the people escorting me had stopped, both of them seeming to listen to something. _They too must have radios concealed in their ears... They're not using them very well if it's unencrypted, though..._

There was a small burst of static in my ear as the other frequency was patched into the one we were all on, causing me to miss out on the first part of the message. _"...Spotted outside the building. I repeat, Shrike Flamestar and Aira Kaza have been spotted outside the building. Lilith and Adam, incapacitate Rayne immediately and put her in a cell, we don't know what they're planning but we can't let them get through with it."_

_Shit_. Before I even heard the whole message I had dropped to the ground and slammed my free hand against it. A circular ring of dark energy rippled out from where my hand had impacted the ground, followed shortly by a large wave of energy that spread out from my hand, rippling along the ground. Adam and Lilith, their names were apparently, were caught off guard by the Arcana Energy-based attack and the wave knocked them both to the ground, pushing them away from me as well. "Dark Wave," I said as I stood up again, "it's nonlethal, but this isn't." Raising my pistol I aimed at first Adam then Lilith, firing off a single round at each of them, killing them both with a shot to the heart. _Tch, that little nonlethal move probably saved my ass..._ "Zack, I've killed Adam and Lilith. I'm heading towards their leader now with Matariel, so I'll need you to guide me."

_"You're going in? Why not just back out!"_

"This guy owes us all an explanation. Rayne out, I'll make contact again when I need your guidance." Pulling a Pokéball out of my pocket I threw it at the ground, Matariel forming out of it. "You know the drill, same as back in Petalburg. Attack to kill," I said to her.

"I'd have it no other way," she said, nodding as we set off running.

* * *

**Shrike**

"Everyone, get behind the other side!" I shouted as soon as I heard that we had been spotted. Mere seconds after we had scrambled out from behind the dumpster and ducked down on the other side of it I heard two thuds behind me and glanced back to see two darts bounce off the ground right where Aira and I had been. Meanwhile Rayne was talking to Zack and I spoke up as soon as they had finished, talking fast as we needed to get out of there fast before whoever had shot at us came down.

"Shrike here. Aira and I are going in, and not a moment too soon it seems."

"Do we really need to do this?" Aira asked.

"As I said earlier, we have no choice; we can't leave Rayne to herself. Zethro, you're on me, literally. Jehiel, to my right, Ramiel, to my left. Let's move!" I paused a moment to let Zethro scramble onto my shoulder before setting off running towards the entrance to the building, Jehiel and Ramiel forming up on either side of me. Aira meanwhile lagged a little behind, Fury running next to her.

Jehiel spoke up as we reached the door to the building. "Master, permission to—"

Before he could finish we had burst through the door, and run straight into two of the Night Ravens pointing some sort of guns the size of pistols but with no true barrel, just an open-topped channel that a small dart was propelled down. Instinctively and without thinking my hand fell on my dagger at my back, pulling it out and swinging it around in an arc, all in one smooth motion. The blade glinted through the air as it sliced clean through the wrist of the closest Night Raven, blood splattering everywhere as he dropped the gun and cried in pain as he clutched his wrist, the moderately deep cut inflicted by my dagger bleeding freely.

"...Kill." Jehiel finished as the injured guy collapsed and passed out, his partner stunned and nervously backing up, raising his hands and dropping his weapon as well.

"What's with those guns and darts?" I asked him.

"I think they're called boltcasters, they fire those darts, their tips coated with a tranquilizer that should instantly knock out most humans," he answered nervously.

"Aira, take one of those. There's your answer to not wanting to hurt people." As Aira bent down and picked one of the boltcasters up I picked up the other, pointing it at the still conscious guy and pulling the trigger. Sure enough the dart knocked him out instantly, his body crumpling to the ground.

"Come on, that's no fun... I'm sure the four of us can kill these thugs no problem!" Jehiel exclaimed.

"Papa, please, don't listen to Jehiel... I don't like killing things..." Ramiel whined.

"Tch, none of you have any experience with what it's like to be tooth and claw against an opponent several times your size; you don't have a right to be talking like that, Jehiel..." Fury muttered, shaking his head.

"Quiet, all of you! Let Shrike decide, this may prove fundamental in his life..."

Startled I looked up at my left shoulder where Zethro sat, finding him grinning back at me with glowing blue eyes. Before I could say anything they returned to normal, Zethro shaking his head as if to clear his mind. _I wish that spirit or whatever would just let me talk to it for a moment some time..._

Bending down I wiped off my dagger on the upholstery of the couch that sat in the middle of the room, before slamming it back into its sheath. "Try to incapacitate, stun, or otherwise knock out any enemies. Kill them only as a last resort," I finally answered, looking over the boltcaster I had picked up to try to figure out how it worked, praying that all you had to do to shoot it was pull the trigger.

"Do you think he'll live?" Aira looked down at the person whose wrist I had deeply cut, blood spreading over the floor in an ever larger puddle.

"I hope, I don't want a death on my conscience just yet." _I shouldn't have slashed at him like that, then... It was just so...sudden. It was as if I wasn't even controlling my own body, but still...it was the only thing that could have been done._ "Come on, let's go."

_"Now who's acting like a commander?"_ Zack remarked over the radio, having apparently heard all that had happened well enough. I chose to ignore him.

Holding the boltcaster in front of me with both hands, not as scared to use it as a normal gun since it supposedly didn't kill, I ran off down the hall straight ahead of the entrance door, Aira and the Pokémon following behind me. As Zack guided our two groups over the radio we charged through the office part of the warehouse, running from one hallway intersection to the other, wary of the doors that opened onto the hallways we ran through. For the most part, Aira and I with our boltcasters were able to take out the people we came up against just fine; they didn't seem to expect us to be armed, and were by no stretch of the imagination trained soldiers anyways. Of course, neither were we.

Our Pokémon finally got some action a few minutes in when the Night Ravens wised up and tried to approach us from the rear. Luckily, Fury was able to easily hear them since they weren't exactly being quiet about approaching us.

"Aira, someone is coming up behind us," Fury alerted, hearing them.

"Fury, Jehiel, Ramiel, and Zethro; it's your show now. Aira and I have to hold our front as they're still coming," I said, progressively feeling like I was some sort of commando or something; the fact that we were now fighting through waves of enemy forces in such a cramped building not helping my view of the matter.

Not wasting a moment, all three Pokémon on the ground spun around and Zethro flipped backwards off my shoulder, turning in midair and landing facing behind me. The person following us, realizing he was caught, nervously raised his boltcaster to aim for the Pokémon, but not soon enough. Fury quickly unleashed a narrow flamethrower at his arm, burning him and making him drop the somewhat melting gun. As he turned to run away, Jehiel barreled after him, leaping onto his back and knocking him to the ground as he clawed at the man's back, ripping his shirt and eventually flesh apart. Meanwhile, Aira and I continued to be preoccupied with ever more of the Night Ravens that continued to assault us from our front.

Once they realized that the person Jehiel was attacking was in danger, some more Night Ravens burst out of the hallways behind us, Ramiel and Zethro springing into action with Ramiel using weak lightning attacks to stun people and knock them out as Zethro used a low-intensity flame wheel to ram into them, aiming mostly for their arms so they would drop their weapons. The cycle continued with Fury and Zethro using their fire attacks to attempt to disarm the Night Ravens while sometimes managing to knock them out, while Ramiel stunned them and knocked them out most of the time with electric attacks and Jehiel clawed at them to the point of unconsciousness, but fortunately no further.

After a couple minutes of fighting at that one spot the Night Ravens finally fell back. Aira and I quickly swapped boltcasters with ones dropped from the people we had knocked out as we had no idea how to reload them or if they ever ran out of ammo or anything, our group continuing on.

* * *

**Rayne**

Matariel and I pressed on through the hallways, barreling through the waves of the Night Ravens with ease. The old mantra of "aim, fire, kill" ran through my head all the while, but for some reason I seemed to keep it out of my thoughts more than I had back in Petalburg. Perhaps I was getting more used to killing people like this, or perhaps mixing my developing Arcana Energy powers into the equation was making it seem a little outdated.

Two Night Ravens rushed at me from both ends of the hallway at once, their odd dart weapons proving to be incredibly inaccurate beyond ten feet it seemed. Or maybe they were all just lousy shots. Either way, I aimed my pistol at one of them and my other free hand at the other, my middle and index fingers on that hand pointing out like the barrel of an imaginary gun. At the same time I shot the first Night Raven with my pistol and fired a sphere of dark energy from the "barrel" of the imaginary gun my left hand formed, tearing through the second.

Meanwhile Matariel was busy having her fun with even more of the Night Ravens, quite literally cutting through them as if they were paper, using the blade on her head as well as her claws to tear through and slice off all sorts of limbs. At this rate, their leader would probably die before I even knew who he was.

A lull in the action indicated that it was time to move on, and I called to Zack for direction again. "Zack, I need our next position."

_"Yeah, yeah. Keep on going straight and you'll see a sign pointing to the exit of the offices and entrance to the actual storage portion of the warehouse; as I said earlier that is where their leader most often hangs out. Geeze, you're just having all sorts of fun down there while I sit here giving directions..."_

_"I wouldn't call this fun..."_ Aira piped in.

Ignoring her, I set off down the hall with Matariel alongside me. _So close..._ Meeting no more resistance we reached the door Zack had pointed out. I pushed it open and walked in, pistol held out in front of me at eye level with both hands, my left hand glowing black as it enclosed my right.

I looked both ways as I entered the room, finding nothing but, well, nothing. The whole cavernous room was completely empty. Keeping my pistol up and pointing forwards I slowly approached the center of the room, Matariel watching my back.

As soon as I reached the exact center of the room, Matariel suddenly let out a loud squeak and yelp of pain. Quickly turning around I saw the Absol sliding across the ground, tumbling about with her legs bending unnaturally underneath her. As she slowed down I could see that she had been knocked out in one hit, but before I could run over to her something hit me hard on my back.

"One should never let their guard down."

The blow knocked me over, but I was able to regain my composure quickly. During the fall I fell I felt the button on the remote controlling my radio transmitter in my pocket depress, but I ignored it. Still sliding along the ground I spun around, gripping my pistol weakly, and aimed at where I had been attacked, only to find nothing there. Another blow to my right hand knocked the pistol away, it flying through the air until clattering on the ground far away from where I was.

"One should be firm in wielding weaponry."

Angry now at the mysterious assailant who had first knocked Matariel out and then knocked away my gun, I reached behind my back and pulled my switchblade out of the right back pocket of my pants, sliding it open. Scrambling to my feet I anticipated my opponent's next strike at my new weapon and flipped backwards through the air, throwing the knife at where I had expected the person to be based on his previous attacks, only to find no one there yet again.

"One must never expect their opponent's attacks to remain unchanging."

I landed on my feet after the backflip and skidded backwards some, before immediately diving forwards right back to where I had been in a forward flip. Looking back to where I had just been I finally caught my first glance of my opponent, wearing a red robe with a hood that obscured his face. _Crimson Dawn robes! Don't tell me he's another of their members..._ As soon as my hand touched the ground a ring of dark energy was released outwards from my hand, followed by the actual wave part of the Dark Wave. Finally an attack hit, the wave of energy knocking the guy on his back. Not having enough momentum to do a proper flip, I collapsed into a crouch, picking my switchblade back up and slowly approaching my opponent who I had finally knocked down.

In the blink of an eye he had somehow managed to get back on his feet, causing me to stumble backwards.

"One must never assume an enemy is down, at any time," he said. The fall had knocked his hood off and his face was fully visible now, as well as his height now that we were both standing and not flipping about in midair, or whatever he was going to move around so suddenly.

He was short, very short. Combined with a rather young-looking face, it seemed like he was actually just a child. He had a vaguely Asian look to him, with narrow eyes and very short black hair covering his head.

Keeping my eyes on him, I circled around until I was in line with Matariel and slowly backed up towards her, crouching down and resting an arm across her chest. Sighing, I noted that she was still breathing fine; the blow must have just stunned her badly.

The kid smirked. "I could have killed it if I had wanted to, but that is not for now. All events have their appropriate time and place in life, and yours and its death are not for now."

Finally taking my eyes off the kid I glanced down at Matariel. While it had seemed her legs had been twisted while she tumbled, she had landed with them straight and they seemed to be fine. Gently I stroked the fur on her face, glad that she seemed to be okay. Turning back around I found that the kid had noiselessly moved right next to me, looking down at me and Matariel's motionless body next to me.

"Who are you?" I asked. "How can you fight like that when you're so young?"

"My name is Chaos. It is not my given name, nor my true name, but it is what all refer to me as. As for age, this body is twelve years; however between all planes my existence is much more. Regardless, the physical limits of my given body do not limit me as they would another. I sense an unspoken question as well; I am indeed the leader of this ragtag gang, but only because it is what suited me for this specific event in this specific moment; beyond now it never will have been."

The kid abruptly reached down and forcefully grabbed my wrist. "What are you..." my voice trailed off as I felt my mind begin to grow heavy.

"Now, I will share with you why I've been seeking you..."

* * *

**Shrike**

_"I don't know what's going on with Rayne, her radio cut out and she hasn't been responding to me! Get down there ASAP!"_ Zack shouted in my air.

"The Night Ravens stopped coming at us as well. I don't know why, but it's like they just vanished. We should get there in no time now," I responded. Aira and I had recalled our Pokémon into their Pokéballs so as to move faster and dropped the boltcasters, no longer needing them now that the Night Ravens were gone. We were racing through the hallways as fast as we could run, Zack frantically shouting directions in our ears. Coming upon a large set of swinging doors we burst through, finding Rayne and some other person crouched down near the middle of the large storage room.

I didn't know what was going on, but I felt like something wasn't right. Noticing Rayne's pistol on the ground a few feet from the door I ran over and grabbed it, aiming for the ground right next to the person with Rayne and firing off a round. The bullet ricocheted off the cement floor along with a small chip of concrete, alerting the person with Rayne to my presence. Standing up he let go of Rayne's wrist and grinned as he realized who the two of us were.

"Well, so it has been decided that another fateful meeting will occur upon these same grounds. Shrike Flamestar and Aira Kaza, my name is Chaos; I believe we may have met before, but on quite a different plane."

I lowered the pistol I was holding as my eyes widened. "Chaos? But...how...?"

"One is never identical between different planes. Even under one existence the representation on different planes can be staggeringly different; however, certain characteristics usually do remain intact, relatively," Chaos said. "For instance, that soulless beast there," Chaos pointed at Matariel, lying underneath Rayne, "is only alive as fate has determined that it lives yet another day. I am a servant of fate and will not betray my master, even if personal prejudices wish otherwise."

_Dammit, he is the same Chaos!_ I growled, and Aira's gasp behind me was proof enough that she had realized it to. Dropping the pistol I broke into a sprint towards him, but as soon as I started running a light-brown circle of energy formed on the ground around Chaos's feet, a pentagram further circumscribing itself within the circle. Seeing this I stopped just as beams of light shot up into the sky from the vertices of the pentagram, crisscrossing and seemingly random lines filling the space between the vertical pillars of light-brown energy. Chaos began to float into the air, back arched and arms outstretched as he ascended up through the channel of light.

"Don't worry; I can see where our paths cross again. The day will come, and at that time fate may choose a different side than she did today."

As soon as he finished saying those words Chaos vanished, the energy from the symbol on the ground and the pillars of light dissipating into the air. Angrily I punched at nothing, aggravated that he had somehow gotten away. There were other concerns than anger just then, though.

Rushing over to where Rayne lay I pulled her off Matariel and laid her flat on the ground, checking her pulse with a sigh of relief. "She's fine, just unconscious."

"And Matariel?" Aira asked as she ran over.

"Um, well..." I felt around the Absol's neck futilely for a moment, trying to figure out where you felt an Absol's pulse.

"Oh, just check if she's breathing..."

"Right, good idea." I rested a hand on Matariel's chest, plainly able to feel it rise and fall, nothing seeming wrong. "She seems fine as well. Chaos must have just knocked both of them unconscious."

"Then he was right about sparing Matariel... Well, he's a lot different in real life than I, at least, pictured him." Aira shook her head as she tiredly collapsed to the ground. "Seriously, he's a noob online, and some kind of cryptic-talking wise guy in real life who thinks he's some sort of transdimensional being or something..." she further muttered quietly to herself.

"Zack, we've got Rayne. She and Matariel are unconscious, but alive. This guy called Chaos who was with Rayne got away though; we won't know more until she wakes up," I said clearly for Zack to hear.

_"Excellent timing, afraid I have some more bad news, though. The radio has just gone wild with chatter on encrypted frequencies that I very well know are used by none other than CORE. I'm working on getting more intel from Daedalus, so hold tight there until I know what's going on."  
_

* * *

**Rayne**

"Rayne, your channeling abilities are truly remarkable... Their potential is second to none."

It seemed like as soon as Chaos had touched my mind I was floating on my back in the middle of a vast ocean, staring up into the bright sky as his voice came out of nowhere. It was actually pretty calming, although I knew I couldn't really be there. "Hah, I'm not that special. So I can make a ball or wave or giant beam of energy, so what?"

"That giant beam is beyond the ability of most experienced channelers. It may not be fancy, but the power needed to use it is enormous. That is where your hidden potential lies. That Hyper Beam...no, let's not call it that. Hyper Beam is such a...primitive name, suitable only for beasts. For you it will be called the Core Beam. A name with a mysterious meaning which you will surely unlock before fate is done with you, much like your own self; it fits an ability that which among all humans, you are one of the few to be able to use. And without even a Sigil..."

_Who the hell does he think he is naming what I use? I quite like Dark Shot and Wave, so he better not mess with those. Core Beam... Does have a good ring to it though, better than Hyper Beam..._ "Sigil? What do you mean by a Sigil?"

"A tool that all serious channelers must master; the Arcanum Sigil..."

In the sky above me a symbol suddenly appeared. As it formed out of dark-silver colored energy, I realized it was the same pentagram within a circle shape that I had seen Hunter use in that recent vision. Above me it hung in the sky, the pentagram within slowly rotating. "So that is a Sigil... I've seen it before..."

"The mortal body is limited. Even champion channelers can only store a limited amount of Arcana Energy within their own body; but by using Arcanum Sigils such as this common one, the capability to store Arcana Energy for use in your abilities is almost unlimited. However, you were able to execute even a crude Core Beam without using one at all and with such untrained skill. Such a massive store of Arcana Energy within your body...there are few who can call you equal."

"...But what does this mean for me? Why do I need to use such a Sigil if I can store more than enough energy within me?"

"Do not be blinded by arrogance, your abilities are still limited, and until you advance further they will be limited. More than that is for you to discover on your own. The Arcanum Sigil is only the first step; the second will come much later. When the time is ready, you will know."

"Why are you helping me like this? The men from your gang, why did they come after us in such large numbers if in the end you just wanted to help me?" I asked, finally voicing the question that had been bugging me.

"As I said, I am only their leader here and now as it is what suits fate, and thus me. Around my existence, planes of reality tend to be distorted, sometime even overlapping. I am afraid that is what occurred in this case; future planes overlapped with the present, creating an infinite amount of identical people all fighting because under their true leader's orders. As directly I have no influence over them, all I could do was manipulate the planes until they finally untangled themselves. I am afraid that is all I can say for the time being, and in fact I may have already said too much."

"But, you didn't even answer my question! Why do you want to help me!" I yelled out, but overhead the Sigil faded away, Chaos's voice disappearing along with it. Seemingly alone I floated in that endless ocean for a seemingly infinitely long, indeterminable amount of time, able to do nothing but wait.

I finally felt my eyes crack open, and weakly I stared up at the dim glare of an overhead light about to die. Tilting my head to the side I found it buried in Matariel's fur, the soft feel a stark contrast from the hard concrete floor I was lying on. As my consciousness came back to me I reached over to Matariel and stroked her side, imagining that I was still floating in that peaceful ocean.

"Hey, she's awake," Aira said, snapping me back to reality.

Grabbing my head I sat up, a pounding headache really not helping things. _Well, I got one thing out of this at least; Arcanum Sigils... I'm going to have to practice again, the Core Beam as well..._

"You okay, Rayne?" Shrike asked as he kneeled next to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How's Matariel doing?"

Matariel's voice answered that question. "What the...hell happened... Who was the bastard that did that...?"

Turning around I saw Matariel beginning to wake up as well, angrily getting to her feet. Her fur bristled and she bared her teeth as she looked around angrily.

"Chaos is long gone by now, unfortunately. I'd enjoy watching Matariel tear his throat out though, I believe..." Shrike remarked.

"How long has he been gone, and how long have I been out?" I asked.

"Oh, can't really say anything for sure. I think you were only knocked out moments before we got here, and he left only about two minutes or so after that. As for how long it's been since then...I'd say about ten minutes." Before I could say anything about why we were still here, Shrike preemptively answered. "Something's up on the radio and Zack's working it out. He told us to stay put here for now."

Groggily I got up and pulled Matariel's Pokéball out of my pocket, recalling her back into it. "How much did he tell you?"

"Oh, his name, some mumbo-jumbo about some plane stuff subtly telling us that he's this jerk Aira and I have known for ages online, and that he would have killed Matariel if he wasn't such a pussy, before teleporting away or something before I could show him how it's done. Well, maybe not exactly like that..." Shrike said.

"Well, he told me he was in fact the leader of the Night Ravens, with some more stuff about planes and who knows what. Honestly, I couldn't understand most of what he said..." I shrugged before looking around and finding my switchblade close to where I had collapsed, picking it up and pocketing it, before walking over to where my pistol was and holstering it. Not a moment after I had done so, Zack suddenly burst back onto the radio.

_"Aw, fuck! Shit, this is bad, very, very, very bad!"_

"Zack, calm down," Shrike exclaimed. "What's going on?"

_"Oh, it's CORE all right. A whole company of CORE soldiers, to be exact. There are about twenty helicopters bearing down on Dewford Island at this very moment. Estimates are putting soldier counts at about five per helicopter, so one-hundred soldiers total. Man, this is very bad. No doubt they're here for you three, so you _have_ to get off this island NOW. I already regret telling you to stay there. I'm heading down to that boat you guys got here in; it'll be our way off this island as well."_

"Okay, we'll meet you down there. I think I know the path," Shrike said. He tried to hide his fear, but it was easy to see he was scared out of his wits.

_"Dammit, why is CORE making such an open move this time! It makes no damn sense, are they trying to start a war!"_ Zack howled, not trying to hide anything at all.

"Oh shut up and get moving all ready!" I yelled. "And I didn't mean just Zack, we all need to get out of here! Standing around doing nothing isn't helping things!"

"Rayne's right, we've got to get moving," Shrike said, grabbing Aira's hand. "Come on, everything will be fine. We've been lucky this far..."

I clenched my left fist, feeling Arcana Energy build up inside it involuntarily. _Well, so I guess I can cut training then. We may just get straight to the practice..._

**End of Chapter 26**_  
_


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